


you better remember me - Ex x Reader (Puyo Puyo Tetris)

by grumpin



Category: Puyo Puyo (Video Games), Puyo Puyo Tetris
Genre: Anal Sex, Comfort, F/M, Female Reader, Fluff, Hand Jobs, Hugging, Light Choking, M/M, Nightmares, Puyo Puyo Tetris - Freeform, Vaginal Sex, ex (puyo puyo tetris) - Freeform, he doesn't actually choke u tho he just kinda holds u down, male reader - Freeform, reader is nonbinary but has male/female genitals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-09-06 22:44:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 26,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16841935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grumpin/pseuds/grumpin
Summary: The Tetris King, the Keeper of Dimensions, the former captain of the SS Tetra, what else was he known as? What was he not known as? A better question would be... who exactly is he?You wind up in an unfortunate place with a man who's been hidden away for far too long. Someone who had been remembered by nobody, yet someone who was as amazing as anyone could possibly imagine. Maybe this time you can unearth him, keep him in your memories forever.





	1. Ex x Female Reader

**Author's Note:**

> wowee my first post on AO3,, this was literally inspired by the time my friend four-wided me with ex's alt voice and the aggressive attack reminded me of being aggressively fucked
> 
> also ex needs more attention in this fandom. he is such an underrated dilf sweetheart
> 
> special thanks to my gf for practically beta-ing this mess, i love u jess.....

Ugh... my head..'

The world around you was spinning in a great circular mass of splotches of blue and purple, your eyes only half open but sending shocks of pain down your skull. Your head throbbed with pain as your conscious slowly stirred, drifting in and out of vision as your body lie still on an unfamiliar platform, frozen and numb with pins and needles.

The ground beneath you felt.. rough, yet smooth. Your fingernails clutched at the rock beneath you as you used your last ounces of energy to push yourself up into a sitting position, your eyes still open as you took in the view around you in between your throbbing pain. Your muscles were sore at the little amount of exertion you put upon your body, your sides aching in pain and your arms fragile and weak when it came to supporting your frame.

You took in the purple background around you, the ground beneath you apparently being part of.. some sort of road. Pieces of the broken road you were laying on floating in midair around you, gently bobbing in the sky as more pieces of broken rock hovered around the larger masses, your fingers still tracing across smooth, cold rock as you tried to recall.. exactly where you were.

You try and try, but unfortunately, you don't remember what happened. You try your best to retrace your steps, to remember if you encountered something that got you to this point... but..

'..Ah!'

Memories of you and your friends on each side suddenly came flooding back. You were standing across from your best friend, the both of you grinning in excitement as a crowd of the rest of your friends cheered the both of you on. You both waved your hands simultaneously as your boards came up, your friend refereeing for the both of you.

'Ready?... Go!'

'Puyo Puyo time!'

The colorful orbs came bouncing down one by one as you and your opponent carefully rearranged them with your magic, smirking as you already managed to set up a decent chain. You began to lower line after line of Puyo on top of each other, carefully as to make sure your chain didn't set off too early. You smirked proudly at your creation of chains, clearly having outdone your opponent already. You don't even know why anyone bothers to challenge you at this point! You were just too good to be defeated! You'd been handling Puyo ever since you could utter your first spell, there was no way anyone could possibly match you!

You were, well, put it lightly, a master at what you did. You excelled in every class at your academy! You managed to beat your professors too! You were simply top of the class, and no matter how many times your friends challenged you to duel, as bad as you felt about it, you would always come out on top-

You glanced over at your opponent's board, the final tip of their Puyo beginning to land on that one spot to set off their chain. Their chain which was stacked quite high up to the top of the board. The chain that could've easily been countered if you weren't too busy bragging to yourself. You heard the sound of a Puyo popping, sounded by even more popping, and the rapid spell mumblings by your opponent.

Oh, shit.

You desperately waved your hand as you tried to counter their spell. With a half-finished chain, you quickly brought your hand down, setting off the small chain as you watched your opponent's board quickly clear, the sound of their voice naming off spell by spell ringing in your ears along with the repetitive sound of Puyos popping. You cleared your throat and staggered to your feet to begin to name off spells of your own, glaring up at your opponent.

'Prepositional phrase!' In a panic, the only thing you could remember was the basic spells your professors taught you long ago. Sure, your theme was writing, but.. surely there had to be stronger spells! You began to name off spells just as fast as your opponent was. Unfortunately, your opponent was already miles ahead of you, shooting back their own powerful spells, doubled by the power of the chain they had just got.

'Nominative ca-'

'Tiger's claw! Lion's roar!'

You were swept onto your feet and knocked down, breathless and out of energy with the onslaught of attacks your opponent was flinging at you. Every single spell shook your core and broke you down, forcing you onto your knees as you could just watch as your board was smothered in garbage, no chance of building back up a chain now, your Puyos free falling whenever they please. You were much too dazed to fight back, dizzy with the overwhelming sense of exhaustion that overtook your body. You were getting beaten. Quite horribly, too.

You could only glance up in horror as your opponent gave you a smug grin, their eyebrows knitted together in determination as they flung their hand out.

'Panther's strike!'

With their final spell, your board fell, tumbling to the ground as well as your Puyos. But.. instead of disappearing like normal, they stuck around, rolling next to you as you sat on your knees, distraught and humiliated with how much you had hyped yourself up to your friends. You thought you had this in the bag! You could've sworn you had an unbreakable chain! So how did they catch you off guard like that?.. How did.. how did they build up their chain so fast?

As if your luck couldn't get any worse, you watched as the squishy orbs around you stayed completely still, still not disappearing. You stared down at them before gasping as they did something.. completely unexpected.

They popped. Without having a chain set them off. And, unfortunately, they all popped right next to you, sending you up into the air. You screamed in fear as you flailed desperately, your heart beating loudly in your ears as your friends all gathered around where you previously were and screeched your name.

It was too much for you. Between being beaten and humiliated, energy deprived and having your confidence shot through the floor, and now the stress of.. being around twenty feet in the air with no possible way of getting down without getting hurt, you allowed your head to drop back, your eyes to roll into the back of your skull, and to your body go into it's natural defense mode- whiting out entirely.

...As you remembered, you shook your head at the thoughts, the pain having slightly gone away, your body now recovered enough from shock to allow your legs to move without locking up, slowly standing yourself up as you wobbled around, still weak and as confused as you were before. At least you weren't hurt. Something.. could've saved you? Or maybe something happened? Now that you thought of it, you could've sworn you had mentioned your professors at school warning you to not be too dangerous and risky with chains. Setting off too many at once could really get someone in serious trouble, it had even been known to transport people into other dimensions if used too recklessly.

You stopped in your tracks as your eyes widened at the thought. Is that what happened to you? Everything that happened exactly was still a blur. But.. seeing as you were in a place you had never seen before.. the possibility was far too likely. You sighed and cautiously continued walking on, the realm completely silent besides the sound of the gravel beneath your feet crunching against your shoes. You cleared your throat before letting out a timid 'hello?', your eyes darting around nervously.

There had to be someone with you.. right? Now that you thought about it, you can't tell if it would be better or worse if someone was with you. If it was a bad person, well..

You shook your head and tried not to think about it as you continued on. Suddenly, your ears pricked up at the sound of.. Puyos popping? And some sort of strange clicking noise? As well as a more masculine voice sounding off spells, though it was hard to make out exactly what he was saying in the echoes of the realm. Carefully, you inched towards the sound just out of pure curiosity, shuffling your feet the whole way in case something bad really was there. Fortunately, a large boulder jutted out between the two diverged paths, providing you easily coverage as you quickly hid and peeked closer at the.. man? Who had been mumbling spells.

Your eyes widened once more at his assets. Instead of having one board, he had two boards. Nobody was with him, either, it was just himself. He was faced away from you, his palms on each side of the boards, an onslaught of what seemed to be like Puyos on one side and what appeared to be.. blocks on the other. His silver hair flickered in the wind of his realm, his hands rapidly moving to cover and clear the onslaught of Puyos and blocks that were coming at him. It was.. incredible. You wondered how he was doing this- how it was even possible to balance two boards at one time. Sounds of popping chains and clicking blocks echoed through your head as you admired the man in front of you, listening to his gruff voice sound off spells.

"Hard drop!" He shouted, his hands dropping down harshly as a long block fell from his board, fitting perfectly and forming a long rectangle of blocks that made a strange noise before disappearing, allowing him to continue the chain of Puyos he had been setting up. Quickly, he brought down his other hand and faced the board, crying out another spell.

"Hyper hard drop!"

The chain quickly went off, the Puyos steadily popping off the onslaught of Puyos approaching them, getting caught up in the chain as they all steadily dropped down, the more that dropped the more that added to the chain, the power he was gaining from them fueling his spells, his voice strong and unwavering even throughout balancing two boards at the same time. It was.. incredible! The way he brought up chains as if he wasn't struggling at all, the way he placed them and daringly stacked them up to the top of the board only to watch them perfectly tumble down, setting off each other until he left nothing but the base of the chain, repeatedly building them back up only for it to fall again.. it made you feel like a fool for ever calling yourself a master. He was the master, if anything.

Finally, as if he were performing the finale, he brought up both of his hands after quickly building up more chain, the lights from his spells flashing around him as he raised his arms steadily, the final rush of Puyos and blocks coming at him as he balanced himself before bringing both of his hands down, his Puyos and long shaped block quickly coming down, the sound of a chain completing and the blocks disappearing chiming in with each other simultaneously.

"Revolution!"

With his final spell, he waved his hands, the sound of small light explosions echoing around him as he slowly lowered his hands, his boards dropping as he finally ended the assault the Puyos and blocks had been waging on him just moments ago. His chest heaved as he wiped his brow, turning just in time for you to get a gaze into his amber colored eyes. His eyes closed as he let out a quick sigh, opening them and stretching out his gloved hands as he stepped down from the chunk of floating rock he had been chaining on and quickly floated down.. the force of gravity of this place might not be as strong as where you originated from. He began his path down your way, his eyes droopy and almost bored as you perked up at the sound of his oncoming footsteps.

You had to do something.. maybe he was the only person in this place! Or maybe he knew what was going on?.. Either way, you knew that this was your only chance of escape. You quickly darted out from behind the boulder, making sure to stand where he could see you. The man looked up, his eyes widening as he quickly rushed over, a hop in his step as he almost instantly made his way from where he was standing over to you, surprising you with just how fast he moved.

For someone who looked so alarmed, he spoke rather calmly and gently, different from the gruff tone he expressed earlier.

"Oh?.. Hey! How'd you get here?..."

You swallowed, attempting to respond as calmly as you could, the man's expression still twisted and expressing worry. You could already tell this was not a place you should be in.

"Oh, uhh.. Funny story, hahah.." You sheepishly rubbed the back of your head, desperately attempting to lighten the mood. The silver-haired man in front of you was having none of it. His expression never faltered despite your nonchalant behavior. You swallowed nervously before instantly straightening your posture, clearing your throat. "Uhm," you stuttered, trying to retrace your steps mentally so you could tell him exactly what happened, going through flashbacks of an onslaught of chains and exploding Puyos, finally recollecting enough to tell your story in a detailed manner.

"You see... me and my friends were having a Puyo battle, right? Well... it just so happened that they let off a chain so big that I... I couldn't counter it in time, and, well, I lost, of course." You blink a bit as you realize. Does he even know what you're talking about? He was from a different dimension, after all...

Nonetheless, the man nodded along to your story, his arms crossed as he waited for you to continue. You drag yourself out of your thoughts and continue on with your story. "Well... The Puyos on my board came crashing down, of course... before they exploded and I completely whited out! When I woke up, I ended up here..."

The man's expression suddenly shifted, his eyes lighting up with forgiveness as he seemed to finally understand. Not only that, but he seemed to emphasize with your situation. "Just a case of powerful chains getting you someplace you don't wanna be, huh? Happens to the best of us," he continued on, his tone still caring and comforting to your ears. "But listen carefully, alright? You shouldn't be here for too long. This place gets pretty spooky, especially for newcomers. We're gonna have to find a way to get you out ASAP."

You nodded and blushed, looking down- almost embarrassed of your actions. Though you couldn't help it, you kept replaying scenes of the chain your opponent had set up in your mind. If you had set off your own chain sooner, you could've sent down some garbage that would've stopped them from getting that perfect chain, and gah, if only you'd paid attention to their side more... it was hard not to beat yourself up over such a rookie mistake.

Sensing your distress, the man took a few more steps forward before placing his hand on your shoulder. It felt... warm when compared to the cold winds of his realm. Not only that, but it was firm and comforting, vaguely familiar in the strangest of ways. You glanced up at him, tilting your head as he just grinned and closed his eyes. "Hey, I know you're scared right now." He began, speaking softly. "But it's gonna be alright. I'll find a way to get you back to your family, alright?"

Although you were a bit shocked at the sudden warmth this stranger radiated, you were comfortable at the same time. Your overthinking was easily soothed as you nodded and smiled back, watching his eyes open once more, his smile never faltering as you cleared your throat and regained your composition. "Yeah... yeah, you're right. Thank you so much, uh..."

...Oh no, you did it again! Didn't even bother to ask his name, and how long have you been speaking to this guy?... At least five minutes, you think. Gah, no wonder you're a disaster! Before you can think, the words already start to form out of your mouth.

"...Uh, what was your name again?"

He blinked for a second before just laughing, seeming to have been used to your awkwardness. Your face instantly heated up as you felt your cheeks burn with embarrassment. How could you be so... so bad at this?

"Hey, it's no problem! I'm Ex. Guess you could call me the keeper of this place," he spread his arms, shrugging as his smile still remained. If anything, your awkwardness seemed to have brightened his mood. You sigh in relief to yourself before smiling along with him. "It's nice to meet you, Ex! I'm (Y/N)." He clicked his tongue and bowed his head, taking in your name as you blinked ahead at him. "I see. It's very nice to meet you!" He lifted his head again and smiled firmly at you, his arms still crossed. You smiled back before taking your time to step around, turning away from the silver-haired man. As reassuring as it was to have someone beside you, you were still clueless as to where you were. The puzzled expression remained on your face as you turned back to Ex.

"So... Where exactly am I?"

His arms remained crossed as he merely smiled at your question, bowing his head once more and closing his eyes as he spoke. "Well, it's hard to explain... But to put it simply, you're in my realm."

You blinked for a moment as you took in your surroundings, looking up at the multiple floating pieces of land and the vast starry night that surrounded it. It was... barren, yet it had a solemn hint of beauty to it. "Your... realm?" You spoke quietly, hoping he would elaborate. He simply nodded and continued.

"Correct. I reside here as the Keeper of Dimensions."

You still hadn't a clue of what he was talking about. It was all so... foreign to you. A strange man who lived in the middle of nowhere and had the power to possess both Puyos and... whatever those block things were...

...Wait a minute, are you going insane? Is this all in your head? Was he insane?

"Keeper of Dimensions?" You parroted, looking back with a half frightened, half confused wide-eyed stare. He seemed to understand how frightened you were as he continued on, elaborating further.

"The one in charge of keeping the universes apart... the one who makes sure nothing ends up where it shouldn't be... that's my responsibility. And it all takes place here, in this little realm of mine." He opened his eyes and gave a soft, half-lidded smile. "It might not look like much, but you see... We're at the edge of space-time right now. It's really rather unfortunate that you ended up here, of all places." He stopped himself to sigh sadly, his eyes darting to the floor as he continued to stay calm and quiet. Before you could interrupt, he kept speaking.

"There's not much to do here."

"I... see," you chirped quietly, your head still spinning from the recovery of being blasted here to suddenly understanding just where you were. Your heart dropped a bit as you thought about never seeing your friends again, never getting to engage another Puyo battle again, never getting to, well... live again. Your gaze shifted to your feet as you stood on your toes before rocking back to your heels, a nervous tic of yours that seemed to trigger whenever you were thinking. Ex seemed to sense your distress as he placed a reassuring hand on your shoulder once more, gazing down at you with another softened expression. "Don't think about it, alright? We'll figure something out."

Your shoulders untensed as you shakily let out a sigh of relief, nodding firmly to him as you finally let yourself stand flat on your feet. Don't think about it, don't think about it... what else could you think about?

...Ahah!

"Those weird blocks you were shifting around earlier," you mumbled unconsciously, your gaze having drifted to your toes, "what were they? I've never seen anything like that in my life."

Ex looked surprised for a moment, his expression suddenly recollecting as he took a moment to reflect, one arm crossed under the other. "Ah, that means you must live in a universe without Tetriminos." Your gaze shifted back up to him, your head quirked to the side. "Tetriminos?" You echoed, recalling the multicolored blocks that clicked together like pieces of a puzzle. It didn't look easy at all... Puyo was much more simple than that. He nodded briefly, continuing to explain.

"Tetriminos are kind of like... separate pieces of a puzzle. They all fit together uniquely if you choose the right pieces." He flicked his wrist as he attempted to explain, the visuals of him stacking piece after piece onto his board playing in your mind. "The power they hold is immense, though! They don't chain normally like Puyos, but if you manage to build up a strong enough wall, and fill it in to make all those pieces disappear at once.. the amount of energy you get to fuel your spells is amazing." He smiled fondly, seemingly remembering his own spells he had sounded off just moments ago.

"Of course, it's an art only a few dimensions have... but when you're the Tetris King, you kind of have to know all that stuff..." He chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head before remaining back in his neutral position.

Tetris King.. that made a little bit more sense. Kind of. As sensical as a man who lived by himself in an isolated realm who called himself both the Tetris King and the Keeper of Dimensions could be, exactly.

"So, you're the Tetris King, huh?..." You tilted your head a bit and placed a finger on your chin, trying to recall back to your grade-school days when you could have sworn you'd heard that name being tossed around. Whatever it was, being the king of anything was important. Whoever he was, he was powerful, that's for sure. And... battling someone like him... not only would it help you learn more about Tetriminos, it would also gain you tons of experience! You smirked and narrowed your eyes, determined on your next goal as you held out a finger to him, your mindset. "Alright, then, Tetris King... Why don't we have a duel?"

Ex blinked for a moment before laughing, his eyes narrowing in the same playful determination, mirroring your expression. "My, you recovered fast. Alright then... Tetris time!"

"Puyo Puyo time!"

You hopped back as you quickly thrust your hand forward, your board appearing into place as an entourage of Puyos began stacking at the sides on your command. You stuck your tongue out and narrowed your eyes more, your reactions still a little delayed from the shock earlier. But there was nothing, absolutely nothing that would stop you from giving a fair Puyo battle. Or.. in this case, a Puyo versus Tetris battle! Deciding not to psych yourself out so soon, you continued stacking your Puyos, choosing a very basic five-chain to start out with. You had no idea what your opponent was going to pull, and examining his movements was going to be vital to winning this match. Once you had placed the last of your Puyos, you quickly thrust your hand down to set off your chain, the sound of Puyos popping a symphony to your ears as you took your time to look over at Ex's board.

His hands moved quickly and smoothly, a much smoother pace than the fast, frantic movements of his hands earlier, the sounds of blocks clicking together in place never once breaking his concentration. Even then, you could tell he was going easy on you, which both flattered and ignited a whole new spark inside you. Huffing through your nostrils, you quickly turned back to your board to confirm that your chain had ended, quickly building up yet another chain, picking up on the sound of a rather loud click and his voice crying out.

"Tetris!"

You braced yourself and winced through your teeth- a sound like that couldn't be good. Fortunately, you managed to pop off a small three-chain, reducing some of the garbage that crashed on top of your Puyos as a result. Grunting, you glared back at your board, quickly reorganizing the Puyos on top of the garbage, enabling them to drop down once the garbage had cleared. Taking meek glances back at Ex's board, you could see he was setting up... some sort of tunnel with his Tetriminos. You attempted to pay no mind to it, but the question still itched at the back of your head. Wasn't the point to clear as many lines as possible? Maybe he was purposely trying to lose for you?

Well, you thought, if that's the case, I'll just have to show him no mercy!

Smirking to yourself, your brows furrowed into a determined glare, your hands moving as fast as they could as you continued crying out spells to the board, stacking up as high as possible for your next chain. Though you had only pulled this off occasionally... you believed it was time. What better way to impress the Tetris King than to pull off an eight-chain?

"Nominative case! Stanza!"

Out of the corner of your eye, you spotted Ex giving you a quick two-second glance, his eyes lighting up as he began to stack his Tetriminos a little quicker. You grinned. Exactly what you wanted to do, make him nervous. You continued stacking your Puyos about halfway to the top of the board before looking over at Ex, freezing in place as you watched a familiar piece that was vaguely shaped like a T squeeze it's ways through the holes Ex had strategically place into his board, finally reaching the bottom before making a reaffirming jingle and bringing the bottom line with it.

"T-spin!" He cried out proudly, smiling back at your confused flinch. You shook your head and just continued on with your chain, building about a quarter more of the way up before finally pulling off your chain, the jingles the Puyos produced as they popped getting higher and higher in pitch- however, Ex kept up easily, continuing to perform T-spins to counter the garbage you would have been sending his way. You whimpered and bit your lip anxiously- there was no way you were going to be able to counter after this.

Your chain eventually ended as you watched him fill in the rest of the holes in his board before topping off the final lines he had left, preparing to fill in the wall with one last long piece. You looked back at your board, seeing all the garbage he had managed to stack as a result of his T-spins, and embraced defeat as you heard the reaffirming jingle of another Tetris, your Puyos falling into place as all the garbage came crashing down on you, flooding your board, making your energy feel so heavy you were pressed onto your knees onto the floor, whimpering as you watched your board fall and the rest of your Puyos disappear. Thankfully, this time, it didn't explode.

Surprisingly, though, you weren't disappointed, just exhausted. If anything, you were proud of yourself for holding up as long as you did considering your conditions, especially against a king. Panting softly, you attempted to regain your breath and build up your energy, your legs still shaking from adrenaline. Ex's figure towered over you as he held a gloved hand out, quickly scooping yours up and helping you back up, meeting your eyes with an oddly appreciative gaze.

"Thank you! That was fun." He smiled. "I learned a lot from you."

You scuffed your shoes against the ground, shyly glancing back down to your feet as you showed a meek smile back. He was already a master at what he did, clearly. Just what could he have learned from a novice like you?

Attempting to take a step forward, you found yourself stumbling, Ex quickly catching you and slowly easing you back up as he muttered. "Easy now," he held onto your hand, slowly guiding you back up as you groaned from your sudden lack of energy. "Be gentle on yourself." Maybe charging head-first into a battle like that wasn't the brightest idea...

"You should get some rest. Here, it isn't the most comfortable, but prop yourself up against here..." he gently eased you against a large protruding boulder, the cold stone cooling your sweat-slickened skin as you sighed in relief, nodding a brief thank you to him. You panted softly through your nose still, swallowing your own saliva in an attempt to regain your composure. Ex eyed you, almost pitying you in a way, kneeling down to your level in order to speak with you- his hand laid gently on his kneecap. "I'll be back, alright? Try and relax. You put up quite a fight against the Tetris King!"

He shook your shoulder gently for confirmation as you meekly smiled at him once more, leaning your head back and closing your eyes as you exhaled, listening to the sound of him walking off once more. Maybe... maybe this wasn't so bad. Maybe once you got used to his company, staying around here temporarily wouldn't be bad at all. You still had your sights set on getting home, of course, but...

Thinking about it won't do any good. For now, you had completely deprived yourself of energy... Twice. Perhaps the best thing to do would be to get some rest. Your exhaustion managed to surpass your uncomfortable surroundings, your consciousness slipping in and out every few minutes, until finally, the cold wind on your skin no longer bothered you, the firmness against your back felt akin to a mattress, and your eyes burned if they stayed open, forcing you into a deep, albeit uncomfortable, sleep.

\--

Greyness. The Void. Nothing but grey, darker shades of grey all around you. Little jagged peaks of black formed in the distance around you, towering high above your figure like mountains. Despite this, however, they had an inherent flatness to them. Almost as if you reached out to them, it would merely prick you like the sharp end of a paper. Long, spindly sticks of barren trees cornered you, never diverging paths- their roots deep endowed into the ground, waiting to trip you up with any small step you took. Pebbles laid scattered around your feet, the cold air nipping at the tip of your nose, forcing you to huddle up in your own skin and warm the sides of your arms with your barely-warm palms. You took a few hesitant steps forward, gazing around at... apparently, nothing. You had no idea where you were. The wind screeched against your ears in a familiar way, almost setting the score to your very own personal horror film.

Dragging your feet across the grey sand, you found words forming at the tip of your tongue, almost natural reaction. "Hello?" You uttered out, looking for an answer in the darkness. Pressing on for a few more steps, you suddenly stopped, forcing yourself to look behind you, suddenly wary of the emptiness behind your back. It was then you noticed a familiar sound growing increasingly louder in the distance, a familiar pop-ding! Joining in on the horror music score the wind sang for you. It grew louder, more frequently, as if there were hordes joining in. Your eyes widened in genuine fear as you watched the horde of multicolored orbs quickly hover after you, suddenly defenseless as your flight-or-fight action instantly kicked in, forcing your body to instantly turn the other way and take off.

Your legs felt heavy, as if they were made of metal, and the surface beneath you felt almost slippery- almost causing you to run in place instead of going anywhere. You struggled, tried your best to leap as far as you could in a desperate attempt to get away from the slippery surface, but only continued ruining in place, your breathing shallow. You glanced back, the Puyos gaining inches on you by the minute, nearly pressing up against your back at this point.

You turn back and open your mouth to scream, getting knocked down by the Puyos that were previously pursuing you, finding yourself muffled by the sudden explosion of the Puyos. The flashbang blinded you, turning the previously greyed out landscape into nothing but white.

An invisible hand suddenly turned the page on the scenario as you found yourself body-less- merely an omnipotent observer to the figures below you. You felt something in you light up as you recognized their faces- all of your friends were gathered around in a circle, a puzzled expression on their faces. Something pushed you down within earshot of them, gaining camera shots that shouldn't be possible without your lack of a body.

"We're missing someone!" One of your friends chirped, counting the number of people surrounding them mentally. The rest seemed puzzled, turning to each other before back to the previous friend.

"Are you sure, dear? I'm pretty sure we're all here."

Alarms went off in your head as you frantically attempted to speak up to no avail. Words formed in your head, a mantra of Me! It's me! You're missing me! repeating itself over and over, yet you could never manage to make the words form physically. You rapidly shifted views as you attempted to gain some sort of acknowledgement, your friends' expressions never changing despite your frantic attempts.

Your friend still remained puzzled as they counted audibly again. "One, two, three, four, five... I guess we all are here. I remember seeing more people, for some reason..." Their expression relaxed as you watched the others huddle around them, calming them as they smiled. "You're probably still tired from waking up. C'mon! I'm sure the mall will wake ya up." So realistic... was this actually happening? Were you just viewing what was actually happening back in your realm?

No way, your mind cried out as you watched the rest laugh and walk away, leaving you behind in the dust. The friends you had known for years forgot about you. They left you behind. No way, no way, no way! Your mind cried out, your position suddenly no longer being able to move as you were forced to watch their figures get smaller and smaller in the distance.

You were suddenly flooded with thoughts as your own voice filled your head. Replaceable, it spoke. Immemorial.

It chanted over and over, filling your head with the cruel mantra. Replaceable. Immemorial. Replaceable. Immemorial.

You scream, and nothing comes out.

—

You're suddenly jolted awake as you hit your head lightly on the boulder you were resting on, groaning in pain as you clutch the back of your head, rubbing over the bruise it caused. Your eyes were watery and your skin was freezing cold from the wind blowing against you as you were asleep, your nose runny and dry and freezing from the climate. You bit your lip, trying your best to hold back your sobs, but everything came too fast- too much at once. You bury your face in your hands and choke, trying your best to muffle yourself lest Ex saw. Your sobs came out suddenly, wracking your body with an awful, horrible feeling, wetness now falling down your cheeks and nose as you snuffled, barely able to compose yourself at this point.

This is it, you thought. I'm never getting out of here. I'm going to die here. Your thoughts just kept coming and coming as you thought back on all the wonderful times you had with your friends- and never being able to experience them again. You thought about the times your friends needed you most, and when you were able to help them through their problems, and when you helped tutor them and teach them everything you knew about Puyo, and when you would all battle together and share laughter together...

What if they never needed you at all? The intrusive thought forced you out of thinking about more jovial times, instead bringing you down into something much worse. Your nightmare replayed in your head as you sobbed louder, being forced to follow along the intrusive thought. They'll be fine without you. They never needed you in the first place. That's why you're here- you're replaceable.

If only, if only. If only you hadn't been so cocky. If only you hadn't looked down upon everyone who tried to stand up to you. If only you weren't such a bully, if only you didn't take the damn battle challenge in the first place. If only you'd been a little nicer... maybe you wouldn't have such bad karma. Maybe you wouldn't be here at all. Maybe... maybe this is your punishment. Something worse than the Puyo underworld.

With your head still buried in your hands, it didn't take Ex long to notice your sobbing from afar. He quickly bounded over to you, sliding on his feet as you heard the scuff from his soles, dropping to his knees as he grabbed you by the shoulder and tried to tilt your soaked chin up. You flinched momentarily, looking up with wide eyes as you blinked. You guessed you hadn't had much of a clue of your volume, only breathing through tiny hiccups of breath as you sniffled through your runny nose, breathing raggedly and sporadically. Ex's expression immediately dropped, a shadow forming over his face as he reached out to you, looking shocked and... guilty, in a way.

"Y/N?" He shook your shoulders to gain your attention, gaining him a glazed, teary look. "Y/N," he whispered, his hands now settled to the sides of your arms. His palms were warm. Compared to you, and compared to his realm, he felt so much warmer. You subconsciously scooted closer just to warm yourself up. "What's wrong? What happened? Are you hurt?" He watched you shift and lightly pull away from his grasp, retracting his hands as you curled up on your side and tucked your arms and feet in, looking away from him. You were ashamed you broke down like this, yet you managed to mutter out an explanation.

"I... I'm sorry." You whispered quietly. "I just- I-I had this nightmare, and..."

"Stop," Ex stated, making you click your mouth shut. He pulled out a handkerchief from his suspenders, dragging the soft part over your cheeks and at the corner of your eyes as his expression softened, now looking full of pity and guilt. His presence felt comforting, almost like a parental figure. Like the father you never had. "It's okay, you're okay..." he continued on, pulling his hand away. You almost wish he didn't. Nobody had ever comforted you like this before. With a calm voice, he finally spoke again. "Tell me what happened, okay? Tell me..."

You sighed shakily, finally being able to regain your breath and relax the slightest bit. "In my... dream," you swallowed, preparing to elaborate for a while. "...I was in this really dark, grey landscape... I walked around for a while, but then I heard something.. popping. It was a Puyo chain." You glanced down as Ex nodded, still kneeled down to your level and observing. You shuddered as you realized how far you had distanced yourself from him, quickly crawling closer for more of his warmth. "And it.. started chasing me."

"Was that it?" Ex mumbled, continuing to watch you as you huddled up against your own skin. You shook your head and continued. "It caught up to me, and it popped. But I didn't wake up.. instead I saw all my friends, and I thought they were waiting for me, but.. they didn't seem to remember me. At all. Whenever I called out to them, they acted like they couldn't hear me.." you sighed and lowered your eyelids, glancing down at the ground once more. "Am I.. am I really that replaceable? Was I sent here for punishment?... Please, tell me, Ex."

He looked more concerned than ever, reaching out and scooping up your hands, eliciting a surprised glance from you. He held them limply, his warm gloved hands heating up yours. "No... no, (Y/N), that's the problem with my realm." His voice gained a bit more audio to it, a soft, gentle calmness still managing to stick onto his words. "You aren't meant to be here. Nobody is. Not even me. The more you stay around here... the more isolated you become. That's why I was so scared when you wound up here in the first place." He sighed heavily and glanced away, letting go of your hands as he placed his down on his knees.

"The truth is, you're not the only one. There's been many like you who have just... wound up here out of sheer unluckiness. They've all managed to get depressed in less than a day of being here." He sighed, adding on. "They never remember me, either. I wasn't made to be remembered. Not even my old crew remembers me.. I'm stuck here on my own, to defend the title of Tetris King and to keep the dimensions from merging."

Your sniffling slowed down as you listened in, suddenly feeling extremely bad for him. He wasn't... here just on his own terms. He had to be here, all alone... to do a job nobody else wanted to do. You can't imagine what that's like. You sit up and listen in, tucking your knees into your chest.

"I have a daughter, too... but I couldn't stay with her because of this job. And now she's never going to know who her real Papa is... all because of me." He looked down, his eyes drooping with sadness. "I'm sorry, (Y/N). I'm sorry you ended up here... with someone like me. I'm sorry I can't help you any further. I'm.. I'm so sorry for being this way. If I could fix it, I would, but I-"

"Ex," you spoke, mirroring his previous actions. "stop. You've done more than enough for me already.. without you, I'd be terrified of this place. I wouldn't have any idea what to do!" You lightly threw your hands in the air to exaggerate your actions. "We might both be stuck here... but at least we're stuck here together."

You flushed a bit at your own cheesy expression, quickly taking it back. "I mean!-" You could hear a hearty chuckle come from Ex as you desperately tried to re-explain. "Y-you know... we're both here together, of course.. and... and while you say I'm not going to remember you anyway.. We're still both here in the long run, right? I'm gonna remember you right now, and that's all that matters.. I don't care if I don't end up remembering you when I get back. As long as you helped me.. you still did something good in my heart. And even if I can't put a name to that deed, without that help, who knows where I'd be?"

You glanced back at Ex's golden eyes which seemed to be laced with tears. He smiled widely before closing his eyes once more and bringing you in for a strong hug. You flinched lightly at the contact before smiling and wrapping your arms in an embrace around him, the two of you resting your eyes as you sighed contentedly. "Thank you, (Y/N). Nobody's ever stayed long enough to say that to me.."

You nodded as you continued smiling, resting your head on his shoulder. He felt warm and comforting.. and no hug between your friends had ever lasted this long before. You felt safe in his arms, like he wouldn't let anything in this world hurt you. You could hear the winds howling around you, yet the only thing you could feel was his warm skin. It felt.. extremely nice, for a lack of better words. You wondered if this was what it was like to have someone truly care about you.

He shifted momentarily, still holding onto you, as if the two of you were both starved to the point where you didn't wanna pull away. You smiled still, shifting with him before accidentally resting your stomach on something.. hard. Something that was poking you. You smile waned as you continued holding him before slowly opening your eyes and glancing down at just exactly was poking you.

Just what did men keep in their pants that was so pointy, anyways? His cellphone? A pair of scissors? A pen... is. Oh. Oh.

You moved away as you looked up at Ex quizzically. "Um, Ex?"

Upon sensing your distress, and feeling the sudden lack of warmth enter his arms, he opened his eyes and tilted his head at you. "What's wrong?" Before he could answer, his little.. problem stirred, answering for him. You watched as his face flushed fifty different shades of red, his hands quickly coming down to cover his crotch as he smirked nervously. "Hahah! Oh, my!- Oh, that.. that is, um.. a problem."

You couldn't tear your eyes away from his... problem. You knew you were staring, you knew it was impolite, and yet this was the first time you had actually seen something like this before. While you weren't the most perverted person in the world, you knew plenty about sex from... sources. Your face was actually starting to heat up quite a bit as well. Nobody had ever been... that attracted to you. Luckily, all your staring gave him plenty of time to apologize.

"I'm... I'm sorry," he uttered out, his voice shaky and quiet. "There.. aren't a lot of people that visit me, hahah.. so.. I guess I get pent up, and, uhm... it happens randomly. I'm-"

"Do you need help?"

Both of you stare and blink at what you just said. Your face heats up twice as much as it was already. Idiot. How did that manage to slip past your lips uncensored?

"Ex.. cuse me?" Ex muttered out, his face flustered and hot as he swallowed and faced you.

"Uhm, I mean," you already started stuttering, regretting every single word that slipped past. "Y-y'know... since not a lot of people come by, I figured-"

"Yes."

"Huh?" You looked up. You figured that since you had your own personal slip-up, it was only fair he had his. "You.. you're sure?"

"Uhm... Yes." He cleared his throat. "I-if you're okay with that, I mean."

You took a deep breath and nodded, reaching your hesitant hands forward before pulling away. He should probably take his suspenders off first, right? You weren't even entirely sure how to do so. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back, exhaling through his nose, before slowly taking the straps of his suspenders off his shoulders. They dropped to his sides, his suspenders becoming loosened before slipping past his legs, gathering at his ankles as he bit his lip- his eyes still closed nervously as his boxers were exposed. You muffled a snort at the dorky heart-shaped ones he adorned. In the center, though, around the crotch region, was a clear extruding bulge. It was rather big, too. Big enough to compare to the ones of the... sources you studied from.

Your hands slowly trembled forward to spread his legs apart, his knees locked from sheer anxiety as you placed your hands on the inner parts of his thigh, leaning closer on your knees. "It's.. alright if I touch here, right?"

He nodded, his hands gripping onto the ground- his knuckles almost white from how hard he was clenching his fists. You carefully ghosted your palms around his pelvis, touching it lightly with a fingertip as if it would shock you. Leaving your fingertip on it, you counted mentally, almost testing to see if it was okay to leave your hand there. One by one, your other fingers joined, one hand resting on his inner thigh and the other on the strap of his boxers. Breathing for a few seconds, you slowly insert your hand into his boxers, surprised at the warmth emitting from it. He flinched lightly from the cool contact of your skin before relaxing, moving up against your touch as he sighed shakily.

"Easy now..." you whispered, finding yourself picking up on some of his verbal quirks. Your heart was racing a million miles an hour, your skin suddenly heating up with sweat. In case it wasn't painfully obvious, you were a virgin, and you had no clue what you were doing in the slightest. Winging it seemed to wield good results, though.

Slipping your hand down into his boxers further, you found your hand being tickled by slight hair that gathered around the base of his thing. Swallowing, you took a deep breath, plunging your hand down to grip onto the smooth skin of his thing.

It was warm, and only semi erect. That was all you could say about it, really. You don't know why you hyped yourself up into thinking it was a big deal... despite it being, well, big.

You carefully pumped the smooth skin, grabbing onto the edge of his boxers with another hand in order to give yourself more room. It laid still on your palm, warmer than anything you had ever grasped before, slowly getting harder and harder as you made your way up to his tip, gently caressing it with your thumb and palm. You dragged your fingertip over the slit, feeling his pulse through it as you felt something wet leak from the tiny slit. Holding it properly, you slowly began to pump it, looking up at him for a reaction.

He looked glorious. His forehead was dripping with sweat, his bangs sticking against his sweat as he muffled whimpers from the attention you were giving him. His eyelashes fluttered as his lips parted, small gasps making his way out of his mouth as he trembled, clenching and unclenching his fists as he flushed heavily. You couldn't help but crack a smile as you felt him getting warmer and harder in your hands, clearly enjoying what he was receiving. You could feel your nether regions get a little hot as well as you shifted positions, now on your stomach as you quickly pulled his boxers down and let his shaft bob in the cool air. A shiver ran down his spine as he opened his eyes, half-lidding them down on you.

You let go to admire the shaft standing in front of you, bobbing in the air still as you swallowed your saliva and blinked, fighting back multiple urges. You wanted so badly to put it in your mouth in some way, but you fought back those urges and placed both of your hands on his cock, one fondling his base and the other working the tip. You glanced up at him, to which he responded by shyly closing his eyes and pretending he wasn't staring at you. It hit you that he was watching you touch him. Why was that so hot?

A small mumble of 'is it good' slipped past your lips as you continued watching him, sitting up a bit to wrap your fingers in a circle around his tip, jerking it up and down as he sent shivers down your spine with a deep groan. Panting softly, you could hear faint sounds of 'uh-huh' slip, your smile widening at just how much he was enjoying himself. You felt him buck up into your hands, a whiny, needy little moan audible as he tossed his head back, his tip drooling with pre-cum as you let him rut up into your fist. He was so cute. A perfect balance of cute and hot and damn if you wouldn't kill to have a recording of this. You're not a pervert, you swear.

You noticed that you had stopped moving your hand, one hand instead locked around his tip as he thrusted into your hand needily, the bare skin of his pelvis audibly smacking against the bottom of your fist. You rest your other hand against his thigh, your thumb rubbing up against the slit teasingly every time he thrusted up into your fist fully. His breathing got heavy and more rapid as you could occasionally see the golden peaks of his eyes peer out, quickly shutting as if he was still too shy to watch you. Adorable. Focusing back down on his cock, you felt your fist get a little slick at just how hard he was going- and just how close he was. His tip was completely coated in pre-cum, your thumb helping to smear around his cock completely.

His pulse quickened as he leaned back and let you finish him off, no longer rutting up into your hand. Deciding you knew the pace he liked now, you quickly began to jerk him off once more, slick sounds emitting from your hand as his deep groan joined in once more. His panting got higher and higher in pitch, until you could hear him utter out an 'I'm gonna'. You knew exactly what he meant.

Moving your fist as fast as you could, you continued moving along his cock, looking back up at his expression. His eyes flickered open for a moment before instantly closing once more, a loud grunt being heard as he arched his hips into your fist once more before staying there. You flinched and closed your eyes, already knowing what to expect- yet you hesitantly opened them as he panted and moaned more, his cock throbbing and twitching in your hand as he kicked his legs a bit and curled his feet, sweat drenching his forehead as he stopped and looked down at you, his head lazily laid back as he propped himself up with shaky arms, grabbing onto your hands and intertwining his fingers with yours.

You tilted your head before holding onto his hand more, smiling for comfort. Did you... possibly do something wrong? Is that why he didn't ejaculate? You glanced down at his cock which still looked painfully hard. Looking back up at him, he seemed to know that you put two and two together.

"Ah... Thank you. Sorry I didn't, um... you know. I kinda wanted to hold myself back, you know?..." He laughed sheepishly as he smiled back at you, his face still red and flustered. You smiled back and sat up, seemingly understanding.

"It's alright, I understand. Is it possible you want to?.." Your mouth shut as you swallowed a bit, forbidding yourself from embarrassing yourself like last time.

"To? Come on, spit it out!" He playfully encouraged you as he gave you a gentle smile. You flushed and looked away.

"To, um... go all the way with me."

"..Oh?"

You shudder a bit and look away, flustered already. Great. You did it again!

His grip on your hands tightened as he gave you a re-affirming smile, grabbing your attention. "I'd love to, as long as you're sure of it."

"O-of course," you stammered out. "But, uhm, you see.. I've never done this before, so.."

He pinned you gently, crawling over your body, suddenly showing off his dominant side. You couldn't help but squeak in surprise, easily overpowered by the older man. Shuddering already, you leaned back to help him lie you back, momentarily forgetting about the uncomfortable ground beneath you. "It's alright. I'll help you. And if at any time you feel like you wanna stop, just tell me, okay?" You meekly nodded as he smiled, sliding his hands up his shirt. "Let's get you undressed..."

You gasped as he slid his hands up over your breasts, rubbing around a pert nipple that was already erect from the cold. You swallowed and felt a sudden shock light up your body as he touched you, your hands weakly grasping at his risk to encourage him. He rubbed his thumbs over them in circular motion, chuckling darkly at your writhing as you huffed and kicked in pleasure, his hands grasping at your shirt as he slowly pulled it up, letting your chest remain exposed to the cool air, only stimulating your buds more as you whined and bit your lip at how cold it was. He leaned down, pressing his body up against yours to keep you warm, feeling his erection rest on your thigh as you trembled and shuddered from the contact. You put your hands above your head, watching his fingertips travel down your body closely, submitting to his actions as you lightly squirmed, kicking your lower half in a desperate attempt to bring more attention to it.

He hushed you, soothing yet dominant, as he slowly dragged his fingers down to your pelvis, lightly tracing along your skin before looking up, almost as if he was asking permission. You nodded to him before spreading your legs wider, allowing him better access. His hand slid past your pants, into your underwear, as he felt past your delicate folds. Your hips spontaneously arched against his fingers as you audibly gasped, quickly silencing yourself before watching with a dazed look as you slickened his fingers with your fluids. He focused intently, just feeling past your folds and never quite having the courage to push them in, fondling and treating you like you were something delicate. As if you were a glass vase that could break under his fingers.

He quickly slid his hand out, noticing his glove that was now soaked in your fluid, before tugging your pants down and exposing your snatch in it's full glory. You groaned at the sensation and looked away in embarrassment, crumpling up your now discarded shirt and using it to cover your face. He chuckled at your antics before focusing back down to your slit, rubbing his fingers over the puffy lips gently. Your legs twitched impatiently as he examined you, rubbing up your clit, his fingers soaked, the cotton of his gloves firmly stick to his fingertips now. He gently pried the shirt away from your face and made you look at him to ask a question. "Should I.. do you want me to put it in now? Are you ready?"

You nodded, turning back to him and clutching onto the shirt as you shuddered and spread your legs wider. He kissed your inner thighs soothingly, dragging his lips across them as he neared your slit, smirking up at you before pressing a daring kiss directly at your entrance. You gasped and shuddered, making a noise at the back of your throat before turning your attention down to his sore cock, bringing a hand down to rub at your clit at the sight. He seemed to fumble with his suspenders, pulling something out of his pocket- a tiny plastic square that held... even more plastic inside of it?

Oh right, your brain chimed in, a condom. In all your sexy glory, you had completely forgotten about one. Thank the Puyo Gods Ex had you covered.

He slid the thin piece of plastic over his shaft, and you gulped, panting and shuddering as you squirmed in anticipation. Your heart rate sped up as you suddenly became nervous and jittery again, blinking and biting on your lip nervously as you watched him line up. You nodded at him, muttering 'please, just do it' before watching his plastic-covered tip slowly make its way into you.

The first push was... strange. Not painful, but a new feeling altogether. You had never actually had something inside you before, but you could feel the warmth and the length protrude into you, and it was something that just felt odd, even with your slickness.

You felt yourself involuntarily clench up around him, watching him toss his head back and groan as he sunk himself further into your slick, velvety folds. You desperately scratched at the ground in an attempt to steady yourself before switching your hands back up to his shoulders, gripping onto them tightly as you kicked your thighs up and lightly wrapped your ankles around his waist, feeling him sink in inch by inch. You panted and groaned as you slowly became accustomed to the strange new feeling, watching his hands push himself up over you at your sides.

For the duration of the first push, you closed your eyes and held onto him tightly, nails digging into his shoulders as you whimpered and tossed your head back. A slight groan slipped out of your mouth, the both of you panting in sync as you kept scrambling to hold onto him. Once you felt him press in fully, you relaxed your body a bit at his command. He leaned forward and panted against your neck, mumbling 'relax' into your skin as he held you by your sides, soothingly rubbing them as you breathed in through your mouth and exhaled through your nose, letting him stop.

Slowly but surely, you felt your body relax and unclench around him, the thought that he was inside you suddenly hitting you. The thought that- there was an actual person inside you. You panted and swallowed, breathing normally as you could feel yourself get more and more aroused by the minute, the sudden burning, aching feeling of emptiness you used to have when you were horny finally being satisfied. With something quite large, too.

You suddenly moaned loudly in his ear as he flinched from your volume before looking up, his skin still sticky from sweat. You bit your lip in apology before half-lidding your eyes more, shuddering. "You want me to move?" He sat up between your legs as you lied back fully, his hands on your knees, keeping you spread as you nodded once more.

With a slow start, he slowly plunged his hips against yours, eliciting a groan from your mouth as you rested your hands on top of your chest, your head rolled back in pleasure as your eyes squeezed themselves shut, tears forming at the brim. You could hear him moan, could feel the warmth rock in and out of you, could feel the soft texture of the plastic rub against your inner walls. You slowly drifted your hand down to your entrance, spreading it with two fingers for him as you continued resting back, listening to the soft smacking of skin against skin echoing through the empty realm. Your eyes flickered open as they drooped, staring out into nothing as you felt him thrust against you at a moderate pace, his hands forcing your legs apart more as you quickly clung onto his waist.

You could feel your normal headspace slowly deteriorate away as the feeling hit you. The feeling of actually being... mated. No, ditch the formal word. Of being fucked. It was better than you could possibly imagine- his hard cock ramming into your core and filling you, filling that aching spot inside of you that longed for another person. You couldn't help yourself at this point, moans kept spilling from your lips as you spread your legs once more, admiring the sound of skin on skin as you panted and decided to open your eyes, looking down as you watched him thrust in and out of you. The plastic was soaked in your fluids, his hips drawing back to expose his sore cock ramming into you. He pulled out halfway to the base before thrusting back in, his hands placed on his hips as if he didn't know where else to place them. You let out a pleasured, drowsy giggle as your eyes rolled back, forcing you to close them once more as you felt him pick up speed.

The sound of him smacking against you suddenly got louder and more frequent, a deep, throaty groan emitting from him in a completely different pitch than he had used earlier. It made you gasp and struck a certain note within you, something that sent a hot flush down your spine as you tingled all over. He leaned down and pressed his hand up against your chest, holding you down as he left his other hand drift onto his hip. He opened his eyes at the same time as you opened yours, glaring down at you with his golden gaze. You stared back at him, albeit submissively, and just whimpered, spreading your legs desperately for him to keep using you. He grunted and suddenly picked up his pace again, leaning down to your ear as he suddenly became aggressive, using you harder and harder- until you could no longer beg for more speed, until you were sputtering over your moans, tearing up and looking up at him because you wanted more, you needed more, you needed him.

He crooned at you as he whispered in your ear in his new deepened husky voice, his speed never once breaking. "You're so tight," he muttered, a shadow obscuring his face. "So tight and hot for me. I-" He groaned as he suddenly sat back up, confusing you for a moment before suddenly plunging his fist out, tightening it around your neck. You gasped and widened your eyes, almost about to kick him off before realizing it wasn't choking you. He held your neck down against the ground as you both simultaneously tossed your head back and groaned, your hormones now taking over, the two of you being reduced to nothing but a moaning mess. "I need this. Please," he gasped out, his hips still hammering into yours at an incredible pace. You teared up and panted, mouthing his name over and over as you felt something inside you swell up, something tighten up so fast that you didn't know what it would take to be unwound again. Something was.. building up, something good. Your eyes rolled up in pleasure as you whimpered, getting closer and closer until the only thing you could say was 'please'.

You watched him lean in closer, still pinning you down by the throat as he grunted, panting in your ear directly. "Cum for me," he growled, before sitting back up and thrusting against you in an aggressive force, the bottom of your thighs and your bottom surely bruised just by how rough he was being. With a loud yelp, you did as you were told, arching your back up to shove yourself down onto his cock fully before suddenly becoming unhinged, spasming all over him as you unclenched and clenched back around him, fluids gushing out around his cock as you screamed in pleasure, slowly laying back down against the cold ground as you felt him moan and tower over you, thrusting into you as hard and as fast as he could, nearing his own orgasm as he helped you work through your own.

You were so dazed at your own harsh release that you hardly noticed him reaching his own, you just noticed that it became hard to breathe as his hand suddenly clenched up around your throat before retracting, his palms facing the ground as he shoved himself inside of you fully, one final harsh smack audible as he snarled in pleasure, filling up the condom wrapped around his shaft, warming up your insides from the thick fluids as you gasped and let out another weak moan. With how doped up your brain was with hormones, you almost wished he wasn't wearing the condom so you could feel exactly how warm and hot he felt, you wished you could feel it gushing out inside of you and hitting against that one particular spot that he had just managed to tap on a few times.

He collapsed on top of you, barely able to keep himself up as you rested your foreheads together, your legs still kicked up and accepting as his cock slowly became flaccid inside of you. You panted and sighed in relief as you attempted to recover, the sweat on your bodies slowly cooling you down as you swallowed, letting him slowly pull away from. You sat up, watching him remove the now used condom and toss it aside as you nodded a thank you and pulled up your pants, slowly getting dressed again as you uttered out a more formal thank-you.

"Hey... Ex? Um, thank you for... that. I know that's probably uncommon around here, hehe.." You sheepishly rubbed the back of your head as you glanced away, a small teasing smile on your lips. He smiled back at you and helped you up, your legs still shaky from the orgasm you had a few moments ago. "It was pretty uncommon... but not at all unwelcome. You're quite welcome! And, ah... thank you as well. Not only for that but... for being so kind." You nodded and looked up, giving an affirming gesture. "No problem at all..."

You let out a loud yawn as your eyes drooped once more. Ex noticed your exhaustion as he chuckled, wrapping you up with your own jacket to protect you as you snuggled into it, resting back on the ground as you closed your eyes, listening in on the older man's words.

"Get some rest, okay? I'll wake you up when it's time to go. I think I know how to get you back home now..."

You nodded and let yourself drift into unconsciousness, sighing contentedly as you felt warm and happy for once. You knew Ex was going to protect you.. and you knew he was going to be there for you.

This time, you didn't have any nightmares.

\--

"Hey," a familiar voice gently roused you out of your sleep, repeating your name. "Hey! (Y/N)! Wake up.. I have good news!"

Your eyelids slowly fluttered open as you mumbled sleepily, Ex's face slowly blurring into view as you lifted up a paw in salute, waving lazily. He grabbed your hand and attempted to slowly pull you up, gaining a tired whimper from you as your previously warm skin was exposed to the cold once again.

"What is it?..." You mumbled out, looking up at him for a reaction. He pulled you with him as he walked backwards, grabbing both of your arms to lead you to your destination as you yelped and slowly stumbled forward, following his eagerness. "Woah!"

"I can't believe it didn't occur to me before. It was so simple!" He let go of your arms and turned away from you, his hands behind his back as he trodded across the rocky platform the two of you seemed to have landed on. He paced back and forth as he explained his thoughts to you. You merely snuffled and wrapped your jacket further around you, blinking up at him. "If I can battle you in both Tetris and Puyo.. and managed to beat you while we're both battling at full strength... then sending you back should be a piece of cake." He tapped his chin through his musings before turning back to you, suddenly looking forlorn. "Although... there is a problem." You tilted your head as you blinked up at him, your arms still crossed. "And what would that be?"

"If I send you back, you won't remember me... This'll all be for nothing. I... I know I should be used to it by now, but I'm disappointed, almost. You seemed like a good person to have around... I don't wanna say goodbye just yet." He looked up, and you could almost see the hurt in his eyes. It bore into your soul and made your heart throb- you really didn't want to have to leave him all alone, but... there was no choice. All you could do is hope that you remembered him... there had to be a better way. You'd simply convince yourself that you really would remember him in the long run. You stepped forward and placed your hand on his shoulder, making him look up- still looking sad and disappointed from your departure. You gave him a bleak smile as you began to comfort him, moving a hand up to his cheek.

"Hey, hey... You remember that promise I made you? That... that as long as we're together, I'd remember you... You'll always be with me, Ex. Nothing could ever make me get rid of the times we spent together... There's no way I'd forget a guy like you. Ever." He leaned into your palm and smiled, his expression soft with understanding. He slowly pulled away as he nodded, standing confidently once more. "Alright, then."

He took a deep breath and exhaled, facing you as he spread both of his hands out. "Are you ready?..."

"Yup!"

"Fusion time!"

As Ex announced the new mode, you perked up at the two boards appearing on both your sides. You peeked up at your lineup, smiling at the familiar bouncy Puyo that fell from your board. At least you would be starting with something familiar.

As you stacked and twisted your chains, you couldn't help but reflect on just how wonderful Ex was and how kind he had been with you the entire time. Even when you broke down and sobbed your eyes out to a completely unexpecting stranger who you'd exchanged few words with, he still held you and comforted you as if you were a friend he'd known for years. He somehow knew almost exactly what to say, and it was incredible. Never in your life had you seen someone who'd-

Oop!- Tetriminos were now falling down with the Puyo. Just what kind of mode was this, anyway? Taking a deep breath, you quickly reorganized your chain and moved it out of the way as much as possible before sending your Tetrimino down. You tried to remember what Ex had done before and watched your next Tetrimino closely as it stuck to the one you had previously dropped, producing a nice click! noise as Puyos began to rain down again. You looked over at Ex, who seemed extremely focused on his own board, his eyebrows furrowed as he focused on getting his first chain set up. You grunted in determination before glaring back at your board, setting a messy chain of Puyos off as you called out your spell names.

He was quite the intense battler. Never in all your years of Puyo battling had you met someone so strong- not even your professors had them matched. It was incredible how fast he moved, it was almost as if he wasn't thinking at all, yet still made incredibly strategic moves. You can't believe that you're praising someone you met less than two days ago, but you were glad you ended up in Ex's realm alongside him instead of.. well, anywhere else. He was someone who you'd love to learn more from if you had more time... If you ever saw him again. Those types of thoughts made you feel a bit melancholy, but you hoped dearly to see him again. You knew in your heart that you were going to see him again.

You heard him set off a set of Tetrimino as you flinched and looked over at his board, garbage now forming at the top of your previously detonated chain as you growled, watching him closely. His Tetriminos seemed to fall right through the garbage, and you quickly mimicked him, setting off another chain of Tetrimino, countering some of the garbage he was sending your way. He had you struggling, that's for sure! But deep inside, you were proud of yourself for picking up on a brand new mode so quickly. Especially against someone as powerful as him.

You watched the both of your boards go back and forth, garbage dropping and being popped away, Tetriminos being set off left and right, Puyo chains ringing through your eardrums as you could feel your pulse through your entire body. Every time you had him, he'd quickly wriggle his way out of the tight spot and turn it right back on you, making you struggle to keep up. You weren't angry at all, however. You were filled with more admiration than you were when you watched your first Puyo battle as a young toddler.

"Speed up!" He yelped at you, sending another surge of garbage your way. You grinned and dropped the Tetrimino you were holding, watching the lines disappear out from a chain of Puyo you had stacked right on top- setting off the chain that was above, quickly countering the garbage and turning it back on him. You were sharp enough after all! You watched his reaction as he widened his eyes before just smiling and saying, "Good move!". You rolled your eyes playfully and looked back at your board, attempting to set back up what you had previously had.

Fearing that it was a fluke, you struggled setting the chain back up, before quickly tossing a small two-chain his way. "Almost done!" You snapped over at him, watching him quickly counter again as you yipped at all the garbage that came crashing down. You smiled before just letting yourself receive the garbage, watching him quickly perform another nearly-impossible chain. You closed your eyes as you heard your board crashed, yet you weren't disappointed. You didn't drop to your knees or anything, you were truly happy that you got to experience something so amazing. You felt the light from the spells envelop you as you opened your eyes once more to face Ex. He swung his arms your way and winked at you, giving you finger guns as he cried out one last time. "Thank you, that was fun!"

With one final wave, you disappeared, to be remembered once more.

\--

...You were laying somewhere where the ground was much, much softer compared to the place you had previously been. Light dew-drops soaked into your clothes and into your skin, the baby blue sky filled with white, puffy clouds blocking the harsh sun from frying you. Around you, despite the tall shadows of trees shielding you, you could see darkened figures surrounding you, slowly becoming less and less dark as you regained consciousness- your ears no longer ringing as you sat up, your energy having been restored finally.

"(Y/N)? Oh... oh, you're awake! Oh, thank goodness you're safe!"

You looked up at the figures and instantly smiled at their familiar faces, your heart leaping as you instantly jolted up, standing up fully. "G-guys! You... you waited for me!"

"Of course we did! We were scared you'd gotten transported off to a different dimension and wouldn't come back! What even happened, anyways?... You've been gone for two days! We were so terrified..."

You sheepishly rubbed the back of your head, smiling up at them as you closed your eyes, attempting to recount exactly what happened. "Oh?... Was I? I'm sorry about that! The truth is, um..."

Your eyes widened and opened as you perked up, vividly remembering everything about where you were. You remembered how cold it was, you remembered the lower sense of gravity, you remembered how dark it was, you remembered the lack of light, but.. on top of it all, you remembered him.

"...I don't remember! Yup. I don't remember a single thing." You smiled up at your friends, your hands behind your back.

"Whaaaat? Surely you remember something!" They looked at you with a puzzled look as you giggled, tilting your head to the side.

"Nope! Not a thing. Sorry, guys!" You smiled as you swayed lightly, standing up on your tippy-toes. "But... hey, at least I'm back here, hmm?"

"Yeah, that's what we're most thankful for! Sucks you didn't bring any souvenirs, though." You felt your friend lightly jostle you playfully as you grinned up at them. Oh, if only they knew.

"Oh, I didn't, did I? Now, let me tell you all about a little thing called Tetriminos..."

If only he knew.


	2. Ex x Male Reader

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> male x reader is literally the same but has some edited bits from the female x reader just as a warning

'Ugh... my head..'

The world around you was spinning in a great circular mass of splotches of blue and purple, your eyes only half open but sending shocks of pain down your skull. Your head throbbed with pain as your conscious slowly stirred, drifting in and out of vision as your body lie still on an unfamiliar platform, frozen and numb with pins and needles.

The ground beneath you felt.. rough, yet smooth. Your fingernails clutched at the rock beneath you as you used your last ounces of energy to push yourself up into a sitting position, your eyes still open as you took in the view around you in between your throbbing pain. Your muscles were sore at the little amount of exertion you put upon your body, your sides aching in pain and your arms fragile and weak when it came to supporting your frame.

You took in the purple background around you, the ground beneath you apparently being part of.. some sort of road. Pieces of the broken road you were laying on floating in midair around you, gently bobbing in the sky as more pieces of broken rock hovered around the larger masses, your fingers still tracing across smooth, cold rock as you tried to recall.. exactly where you were.

You try and try, but unfortunately, you don't remember what happened. You try your best to retrace your steps, to remember if you encountered something that got you to this point... but..

'..Ah!'

Memories of you and your friends on each side suddenly came flooding back. You were standing across from your best friend, the both of you grinning in excitement as a crowd of the rest of your friends cheered the both of you on. You both waved your hands simultaneously as your boards came up, your friend refereeing for the both of you.

'Ready?... Go!'

'Puyo Puyo time!'

The colorful orbs came bouncing down one by one as you and your opponent carefully rearranged them with your magic, smirking as you already managed to set up a decent chain. You began to lower line after line of Puyo on top of each other, carefully as to make sure your chain didn't set off too early. You smirked proudly at your creation of chains, clearly having outdone your opponent already. You don't even know why anyone bothers to challenge you at this point! You were just too good to be defeated! You'd been handling Puyo ever since you could utter your first spell, there was no way anyone could possibly match you!

You were, well, put it lightly, a master at what you did. You excelled in every class at your academy! You managed to beat your professors too! You were simply top of the class, and no matter how many times your friends challenged you to duel, as bad as you felt about it, you would always come out on top-

You glanced over at your opponent's board, the final tip of their Puyo beginning to land on that one spot to set off their chain. Their chain which was stacked quite high up to the top of the board. The chain that could've easily been countered if you weren't too busy bragging to yourself. You heard the sound of a Puyo popping, sounded by even more popping, and the rapid spell mumblings by your opponent.

Oh, shit.

You desperately waved your hand as you tried to counter their spell. With a half-finished chain, you quickly brought your hand down, setting off the small chain as you watched your opponent's board quickly clear, the sound of their voice naming off spell by spell ringing in your ears along with the repetitive sound of Puyos popping. You cleared your throat and staggered to your feet to begin to name off spells of your own, glaring up at your opponent.

'Prepositional phrase!' In a panic, the only thing you could remember was the basic spells your professors taught you long ago. Sure, your theme was writing, but.. surely there had to be stronger spells! You began to name off spells just as fast as your opponent was. Unfortunately, your opponent was already miles ahead of you, shooting back their own powerful spells, doubled by the power of the chain they had just got.

'Nominative ca-'

'Tiger's claw! Lion's roar!'

You were swept onto your feet and knocked down, breathless and out of energy with the onslaught of attacks your opponent was flinging at you. Every single spell shook your core and broke you down, forcing you onto your knees as you could just watch as your board was smothered in garbage, no chance of building back up a chain now, your Puyos free falling whenever they please. You were much too dazed to fight back, dizzy with the overwhelming sense of exhaustion that overtook your body. You were getting beaten. Quite horribly, too.

You could only glance up in horror as your opponent gave you a smug grin, their eyebrows knitted together in determination as they flung their hand out.

'Panther's strike!'

With their final spell, your board fell, tumbling to the ground as well as your Puyos. But.. instead of disappearing like normal, they stuck around, rolling next to you as you sat on your knees, distraught and humiliated with how much you had hyped yourself up to your friends. You thought you had this in the bag! You could've sworn you had an unbreakable chain! So how did they catch you off guard like that?.. How did.. how did they build up their chain so fast?

As if your luck couldn't get any worse, you watched as the squishy orbs around you stayed completely still, still not disappearing. You stared down at them before gasping as they did something.. completely unexpected.

They popped. Without having a chain set them off. And, unfortunately, they all popped right next to you, sending you up into the air. You screamed in fear as you flailed desperately, your heart beating loudly in your ears as your friends all gathered around where you previously were and screeched your name.

It was too much for you. Between being beaten and humiliated, energy deprived and having your confidence shot through the floor, and now the stress of.. being around twenty feet in the air with no possible way of getting down without getting hurt, you allowed your head to drop back, your eyes to roll into the back of your skull, and to your body go into it's natural defense mode- whiting out entirely.

...As you remembered, you shook your head at the thoughts, the pain having slightly gone away, your body now recovered enough from shock to allow your legs to move without locking up, slowly standing yourself up as you wobbled around, still weak and as confused as you were before. At least you weren't hurt. Something.. could've saved you? Or maybe something happened? Now that you thought of it, you could've sworn you had mentioned your professors at school warning you to not be too dangerous and risky with chains. Setting off too many at once could really get someone in serious trouble, it had even been known to transport people into other dimensions if used too recklessly.

You stopped in your tracks as your eyes widened at the thought. Is that what happened to you? Everything that happened exactly was still a blur. But.. seeing as you were in a place you had never seen before.. the possibility was far too likely. You sighed and cautiously continued walking on, the realm completely silent besides the sound of the gravel beneath your feet crunching against your shoes. You cleared your throat before letting out a timid 'hello?', your eyes darting around nervously.

There had to be someone with you.. right? Now that you thought about it, you can't tell if it would be better or worse if someone was with you. If it was a bad person, well..

You shook your head and tried not to think about it as you continued on. Suddenly, your ears pricked up at the sound of.. Puyos popping? And some sort of strange clicking noise? As well as a more masculine voice sounding off spells, though it was hard to make out exactly what he was saying in the echoes of the realm. Carefully, you inched towards the sound just out of pure curiosity, shuffling your feet the whole way in case something bad really was there. Fortunately, a large boulder jutted out between the two diverged paths, providing you easily coverage as you quickly hid and peeked closer at the.. man? Who had been mumbling spells.

Your eyes widened once more at his assets. Instead of having one board, he had two boards. Nobody was with him, either, it was just himself. He was faced away from you, his palms on each side of the boards, an onslaught of what seemed to be like Puyos on one side and what appeared to be.. blocks on the other. His silver hair flickered in the wind of his realm, his hands rapidly moving to cover and clear the onslaught of Puyos and blocks that were coming at him. It was.. incredible. You wondered how he was doing this- how it was even possible to balance two boards at one time. Sounds of popping chains and clicking blocks echoed through your head as you admired the man in front of you, listening to his gruff voice sound off spells.

"Hard drop!" He shouted, his hands dropping down harshly as a long block fell from his board, fitting perfectly and forming a long rectangle of blocks that made a strange noise before disappearing, allowing him to continue the chain of Puyos he had been setting up. Quickly, he brought down his other hand and faced the board, crying out another spell.

"Hyper hard drop!"

The chain quickly went off, the Puyos steadily popping off the onslaught of Puyos approaching them, getting caught up in the chain as they all steadily dropped down, the more that dropped the more that added to the chain, the power he was gaining from them fueling his spells, his voice strong and unwavering even throughout balancing two boards at the same time. It was.. incredible! The way he brought up chains as if he wasn't struggling at all, the way he placed them and daringly stacked them up to the top of the board only to watch them perfectly tumble down, setting off each other until he left nothing but the base of the chain, repeatedly building them back up only for it to fall again.. it made you feel like a fool for ever calling yourself a master. He was the master, if anything.

Finally, as if he were performing the finale, he brought up both of his hands after quickly building up more chain, the lights from his spells flashing around him as he raised his arms steadily, the final rush of Puyos and blocks coming at him as he balanced himself before bringing both of his hands down, his Puyos and long shaped block quickly coming down, the sound of a chain completing and the blocks disappearing chiming in with each other simultaneously.

"Revolution!"

With his final spell, he waved his hands, the sound of small light explosions echoing around him as he slowly lowered his hands, his boards dropping as he finally ended the assault the Puyos and blocks had been waging on him just moments ago. His chest heaved as he wiped his brow, turning just in time for you to get a gaze into his amber colored eyes. His eyes closed as he let out a quick sigh, opening them and stretching out his gloved hands as he stepped down from the chunk of floating rock he had been chaining on and quickly floated down.. the force of gravity of this place might not be as strong as where you originated from. He began his path down your way, his eyes droopy and almost bored as you perked up at the sound of his oncoming footsteps.

You had to do something.. maybe he was the only person in this place! Or maybe he knew what was going on?.. Either way, you knew that this was your only chance of escape. You quickly darted out from behind the boulder, making sure to stand where he could see you. The man looked up, his eyes widening as he quickly rushed over, a hop in his step as he almost instantly made his way from where he was standing over to you, surprising you with just how fast he moved.

For someone who looked so alarmed, he spoke rather calmly and gently, different from the gruff tone he expressed earlier.

"Oh?.. Hey! How'd you get here?..."

You swallowed, attempting to respond as calmly as you could, the man's expression still twisted and expressing worry. You could already tell this was not a place you should be in.

"Oh, uhh.. Funny story, hahah.." You sheepishly rubbed the back of your head, desperately attempting to lighten the mood. The silver-haired man in front of you was having none of it. His expression never faltered despite your nonchalant behavior. You swallowed nervously before instantly straightening your posture, clearing your throat. "Uhm," you stuttered, trying to retrace your steps mentally so you could tell him exactly what happened, going through flashbacks of an onslaught of chains and exploding Puyos, finally recollecting enough to tell your story in a detailed manner.

"You see... me and my friends were having a Puyo battle, right? Well... it just so happened that they let off a chain so big that I... I couldn't counter it in time, and, well, I lost, of course." You blink a bit as you realize. Does he even know what you're talking about? He was from a different dimension, after all...

Nonetheless, the man nodded along to your story, his arms crossed as he waited for you to continue. You drag yourself out of your thoughts and continue on with your story. "Well... The Puyos on my board came crashing down, of course... before they exploded and I completely whited out! When I woke up, I ended up here..."

The man's expression suddenly shifted, his eyes lighting up with forgiveness as he seemed to finally understand. Not only that, but he seemed to emphasize with your situation. "Just a case of powerful chains getting you someplace you don't wanna be, huh? Happens to the best of us," he continued on, his tone still caring and comforting to your ears. "But listen carefully, alright? You shouldn't be here for too long. This place gets pretty spooky, especially for newcomers. We're gonna have to find a way to get you out ASAP."

You nodded and blushed, looking down- almost embarrassed of your actions. Though you couldn't help it, you kept replaying scenes of the chain your opponent had set up in your mind. If you had set off your own chain sooner, you could've sent down some garbage that would've stopped them from getting that perfect chain, and gah, if only you'd paid attention to their side more... it was hard not to beat yourself up over such a rookie mistake.

Sensing your distress, the man took a few more steps forward before placing his hand on your shoulder. It felt... warm when compared to the cold winds of his realm. Not only that, but it was firm and comforting, vaguely familiar in the strangest of ways. You glanced up at him, tilting your head as he just grinned and closed his eyes. "Hey, I know you're scared right now." He began, speaking softly. "But it's gonna be alright. I'll find a way to get you back to your family, alright?"

Although you were a bit shocked at the sudden warmth this stranger radiated, you were comfortable at the same time. Your overthinking was easily soothed as you nodded and smiled back, watching his eyes open once more, his smile never faltering as you cleared your throat and regained your composition. "Yeah... yeah, you're right. Thank you so much, uh..."

...Oh no, you did it again! Didn't even bother to ask his name, and how long have you been speaking to this guy?... At least five minutes, you think. Gah, no wonder you're a disaster! Before you can think, the words already start to form out of your mouth.

"...Uh, what was your name again?"

He blinked for a second before just laughing, seeming to have been used to your awkwardness. Your face instantly heated up as you felt your cheeks burn with embarrassment. How could you be so... so bad at this?

"Hey, it's no problem! I'm Ex. Guess you could call me the keeper of this place," he spread his arms, shrugging as his smile still remained. If anything, your awkwardness seemed to have brightened his mood. You sigh in relief to yourself before smiling along with him. "It's nice to meet you, Ex! I'm (Y/N)." He clicked his tongue and bowed his head, taking in your name as you blinked ahead at him. "I see. It's very nice to meet you!" He lifted his head again and smiled firmly at you, his arms still crossed. You smiled back before taking your time to step around, turning away from the silver-haired man. As reassuring as it was to have someone beside you, you were still clueless as to where you were. The puzzled expression remained on your face as you turned back to Ex.

"So... Where exactly am I?"

His arms remained crossed as he merely smiled at your question, bowing his head once more and closing his eyes as he spoke. "Well, it's hard to explain... But to put it simply, you're in my realm."

You blinked for a moment as you took in your surroundings, looking up at the multiple floating pieces of land and the vast starry night that surrounded it. It was... barren, yet it had a solemn hint of beauty to it. "Your... realm?" You spoke quietly, hoping he would elaborate. He simply nodded and continued.

"Correct. I reside here as the Keeper of Dimensions."

You still hadn't a clue of what he was talking about. It was all so... foreign to you. A strange man who lived in the middle of nowhere and had the power to possess both Puyos and... whatever those block things were...

...Wait a minute, are you going insane? Is this all in your head? Was he insane?

"Keeper of Dimensions?" You parroted, looking back with a half frightened, half confused wide-eyed stare. He seemed to understand how frightened you were as he continued on, elaborating further.

"The one in charge of keeping the universes apart... the one who makes sure nothing ends up where it shouldn't be... that's my responsibility. And it all takes place here, in this little realm of mine." He opened his eyes and gave a soft, half-lidded smile. "It might not look like much, but you see... We're at the edge of space-time right now. It's really rather unfortunate that you ended up here, of all places." He stopped himself to sigh sadly, his eyes darting to the floor as he continued to stay calm and quiet. Before you could interrupt, he kept speaking.

"There's not much to do here."

"I... see," you chirped quietly, your head still spinning from the recovery of being blasted here to suddenly understanding just where you were. Your heart dropped a bit as you thought about never seeing your friends again, never getting to engage another Puyo battle again, never getting to, well... live again. Your gaze shifted to your feet as you stood on your toes before rocking back to your heels, a nervous tic of yours that seemed to trigger whenever you were thinking. Ex seemed to sense your distress as he placed a reassuring hand on your shoulder once more, gazing down at you with another softened expression. "Don't think about it, alright? We'll figure something out."

Your shoulders untensed as you shakily let out a sigh of relief, nodding firmly to him as you finally let yourself stand flat on your feet. Don't think about it, don't think about it... what else could you think about?

...Ahah!

"Those weird blocks you were shifting around earlier," you mumbled unconsciously, your gaze having drifted to your toes, "what were they? I've never seen anything like that in my life."

Ex looked surprised for a moment, his expression suddenly recollecting as he took a moment to reflect, one arm crossed under the other. "Ah, that means you must live in a universe without Tetriminos." Your gaze shifted back up to him, your head quirked to the side. "Tetriminos?" You echoed, recalling the multicolored blocks that clicked together like pieces of a puzzle. It didn't look easy at all... Puyo was much more simple than that. He nodded briefly, continuing to explain.

"Tetriminos are kind of like... separate pieces of a puzzle. They all fit together uniquely if you choose the right pieces." He flicked his wrist as he attempted to explain, the visuals of him stacking piece after piece onto his board playing in your mind. "The power they hold is immense, though! They don't chain normally like Puyos, but if you manage to build up a strong enough wall, and fill it in to make all those pieces disappear at once.. the amount of energy you get to fuel your spells is amazing." He smiled fondly, seemingly remembering his own spells he had sounded off just moments ago.

"Of course, it's an art only a few dimensions have... but when you're the Tetris King, you kind of have to know all that stuff..." He chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head before remaining back in his neutral position.

Tetris King.. that made a little bit more sense. Kind of. As sensical as a man who lived by himself in an isolated realm who called himself both the Tetris King and the Keeper of Dimensions could be, exactly.

"So, you're the Tetris King, huh?..." You tilted your head a bit and placed a finger on your chin, trying to recall back to your grade-school days when you could have sworn you'd heard that name being tossed around. Whatever it was, being the king of anything was important. Whoever he was, he was powerful, that's for sure. And... battling someone like him... not only would it help you learn more about Tetriminos, it would also gain you tons of experience! You smirked and narrowed your eyes, determined on your next goal as you held out a finger to him, your mindset. "Alright, then, Tetris King... Why don't we have a duel?"

Ex blinked for a moment before laughing, his eyes narrowing in the same playful determination, mirroring your expression. "My, you recovered fast. Alright then... Tetris time!"

"Puyo Puyo time!"

You hopped back as you quickly thrust your hand forward, your board appearing into place as an entourage of Puyos began stacking at the sides on your command. You stuck your tongue out and narrowed your eyes more, your reactions still a little delayed from the shock earlier. But there was nothing, absolutely nothing that would stop you from giving a fair Puyo battle. Or.. in this case, a Puyo versus Tetris battle! Deciding not to psych yourself out so soon, you continued stacking your Puyos, choosing a very basic five-chain to start out with. You had no idea what your opponent was going to pull, and examining his movements was going to be vital to winning this match. Once you had placed the last of your Puyos, you quickly thrust your hand down to set off your chain, the sound of Puyos popping a symphony to your ears as you took your time to look over at Ex's board.

His hands moved quickly and smoothly, a much smoother pace than the fast, frantic movements of his hands earlier, the sounds of blocks clicking together in place never once breaking his concentration. Even then, you could tell he was going easy on you, which both flattered and ignited a whole new spark inside you. Huffing through your nostrils, you quickly turned back to your board to confirm that your chain had ended, quickly building up yet another chain, picking up on the sound of a rather loud click and his voice crying out.

"Tetris!"

You braced yourself and winced through your teeth- a sound like that couldn't be good. Fortunately, you managed to pop off a small three-chain, reducing some of the garbage that crashed on top of your Puyos as a result. Grunting, you glared back at your board, quickly reorganizing the Puyos on top of the garbage, enabling them to drop down once the garbage had cleared. Taking meek glances back at Ex's board, you could see he was setting up... some sort of tunnel with his Tetriminos. You attempted to pay no mind to it, but the question still itched at the back of your head. Wasn't the point to clear as many lines as possible? Maybe he was purposely trying to lose for you?

Well, you thought, if that's the case, I'll just have to show him no mercy!

Smirking to yourself, your brows furrowed into a determined glare, your hands moving as fast as they could as you continued crying out spells to the board, stacking up as high as possible for your next chain. Though you had only pulled this off occasionally... you believed it was time. What better way to impress the Tetris King than to pull off an eight-chain?

"Nominative case! Stanza!"

Out of the corner of your eye, you spotted Ex giving you a quick two-second glance, his eyes lighting up as he began to stack his Tetriminos a little quicker. You grinned. Exactly what you wanted to do, make him nervous. You continued stacking your Puyos about halfway to the top of the board before looking over at Ex, freezing in place as you watched a familiar piece that was vaguely shaped like a T squeeze it's ways through the holes Ex had strategically place into his board, finally reaching the bottom before making a reaffirming jingle and bringing the bottom line with it.

"T-spin!" He cried out proudly, smiling back at your confused flinch. You shook your head and just continued on with your chain, building about a quarter more of the way up before finally pulling off your chain, the jingles the Puyos produced as they popped getting higher and higher in pitch- however, Ex kept up easily, continuing to perform T-spins to counter the garbage you would have been sending his way. You whimpered and bit your lip anxiously- there was no way you were going to be able to counter after this.

Your chain eventually ended as you watched him fill in the rest of the holes in his board before topping off the final lines he had left, preparing to fill in the wall with one last long piece. You looked back at your board, seeing all the garbage he had managed to stack as a result of his T-spins, and embraced defeat as you heard the reaffirming jingle of another Tetris, your Puyos falling into place as all the garbage came crashing down on you, flooding your board, making your energy feel so heavy you were pressed onto your knees onto the floor, whimpering as you watched your board fall and the rest of your Puyos disappear. Thankfully, this time, it didn't explode.

Surprisingly, though, you weren't disappointed, just exhausted. If anything, you were proud of yourself for holding up as long as you did considering your conditions, especially against a king. Panting softly, you attempted to regain your breath and build up your energy, your legs still shaking from adrenaline. Ex's figure towered over you as he held a gloved hand out, quickly scooping yours up and helping you back up, meeting your eyes with an oddly appreciative gaze.

"Thank you! That was fun." He smiled. "I learned a lot from you."

You scuffed your shoes against the ground, shyly glancing back down to your feet as you showed a meek smile back. He was already a master at what he did, clearly. Just what could he have learned from a novice like you?

Attempting to take a step forward, you found yourself stumbling, Ex quickly catching you and slowly easing you back up as he muttered. "Easy now," he held onto your hand, slowly guiding you back up as you groaned from your sudden lack of energy. "Be gentle on yourself." Maybe charging head-first into a battle like that wasn't the brightest idea...

"You should get some rest. Here, it isn't the most comfortable, but prop yourself up against here..." he gently eased you against a large protruding boulder, the cold stone cooling your sweat-slickened skin as you sighed in relief, nodding a brief thank you to him. You panted softly through your nose still, swallowing your own saliva in an attempt to regain your composure. Ex eyed you, almost pitying you in a way, kneeling down to your level in order to speak with you- his hand laid gently on his kneecap. "I'll be back, alright? Try and relax. You put up quite a fight against the Tetris King!"

He shook your shoulder gently for confirmation as you meekly smiled at him once more, leaning your head back and closing your eyes as you exhaled, listening to the sound of him walking off once more. Maybe... maybe this wasn't so bad. Maybe once you got used to his company, staying around here temporarily wouldn't be bad at all. You still had your sights set on getting home, of course, but...

Thinking about it won't do any good. For now, you had completely deprived yourself of energy... Twice. Perhaps the best thing to do would be to get some rest. Your exhaustion managed to surpass your uncomfortable surroundings, your consciousness slipping in and out every few minutes, until finally, the cold wind on your skin no longer bothered you, the firmness against your back felt akin to a mattress, and your eyes burned if they stayed open, forcing you into a deep, albeit uncomfortable, sleep.

\--

Greyness. The Void. Nothing but grey, darker shades of grey all around you. Little jagged peaks of black formed in the distance around you, towering high above your figure like mountains. Despite this, however, they had an inherent flatness to them. Almost as if you reached out to them, it would merely prick you like the sharp end of a paper. Long, spindly sticks of barren trees cornered you, never diverging paths- their roots deep endowed into the ground, waiting to trip you up with any small step you took. Pebbles laid scattered around your feet, the cold air nipping at the tip of your nose, forcing you to huddle up in your own skin and warm the sides of your arms with your barely-warm palms. You took a few hesitant steps forward, gazing around at... apparently, nothing. You had no idea where you were. The wind screeched against your ears in a familiar way, almost setting the score to your very own personal horror film.

Dragging your feet across the grey sand, you found words forming at the tip of your tongue, almost natural reaction. "Hello?" You uttered out, looking for an answer in the darkness. Pressing on for a few more steps, you suddenly stopped, forcing yourself to look behind you, suddenly wary of the emptiness behind your back. It was then you noticed a familiar sound growing increasingly louder in the distance, a familiar pop-ding! Joining in on the horror music score the wind sang for you. It grew louder, more frequently, as if there were hordes joining in. Your eyes widened in genuine fear as you watched the horde of multicolored orbs quickly hover after you, suddenly defenseless as your flight-or-fight action instantly kicked in, forcing your body to instantly turn the other way and take off.

Your legs felt heavy, as if they were made of metal, and the surface beneath you felt almost slippery- almost causing you to run in place instead of going anywhere. You struggled, tried your best to leap as far as you could in a desperate attempt to get away from the slippery surface, but only continued ruining in place, your breathing shallow. You glanced back, the Puyos gaining inches on you by the minute, nearly pressing up against your back at this point.

You turn back and open your mouth to scream, getting knocked down by the Puyos that were previously pursuing you, finding yourself muffled by the sudden explosion of the Puyos. The flashbang blinded you, turning the previously greyed out landscape into nothing but white.

An invisible hand suddenly turned the page on the scenario as you found yourself body-less- merely an omnipotent observer to the figures below you. You felt something in you light up as you recognized their faces- all of your friends were gathered around in a circle, a puzzled expression on their faces. Something pushed you down within earshot of them, gaining camera shots that shouldn't be possible without your lack of a body.

"We're missing someone!" One of your friends chirped, counting the number of people surrounding them mentally. The rest seemed puzzled, turning to each other before back to the previous friend.

"Are you sure, dear? I'm pretty sure we're all here."

Alarms went off in your head as you frantically attempted to speak up to no avail. Words formed in your head, a mantra of Me! It's me! You're missing me! repeating itself over and over, yet you could never manage to make the words form physically. You rapidly shifted views as you attempted to gain some sort of acknowledgement, your friends' expressions never changing despite your frantic attempts.

Your friend still remained puzzled as they counted audibly again. "One, two, three, four, five... I guess we all are here. I remember seeing more people, for some reason..." Their expression relaxed as you watched the others huddle around them, calming them as they smiled. "You're probably still tired from waking up. C'mon! I'm sure the mall will wake ya up." So realistic... was this actually happening? Were you just viewing what was actually happening back in your realm?

No way, your mind cried out as you watched the rest laugh and walk away, leaving you behind in the dust. The friends you had known for years forgot about you. They left you behind. No way, no way, no way! Your mind cried out, your position suddenly no longer being able to move as you were forced to watch their figures get smaller and smaller in the distance.

You were suddenly flooded with thoughts as your own voice filled your head. Replaceable, it spoke. Immemorial.

It chanted over and over, filling your head with the cruel mantra. Replaceable. Immemorial. Replaceable. Immemorial.

You scream, and nothing comes out.

—

You're suddenly jolted awake as you hit your head lightly on the boulder you were resting on, groaning in pain as you clutch the back of your head, rubbing over the bruise it caused. Your eyes were watery and your skin was freezing cold from the wind blowing against you as you were asleep, your nose runny and dry and freezing from the climate. You bit your lip, trying your best to hold back your sobs, but everything came too fast- too much at once. You bury your face in your hands and choke, trying your best to muffle yourself lest Ex saw. Your sobs came out suddenly, wracking your body with an awful, horrible feeling, wetness now falling down your cheeks and nose as you snuffled, barely able to compose yourself at this point.

This is it, you thought. I'm never getting out of here. I'm going to die here. Your thoughts just kept coming and coming as you thought back on all the wonderful times you had with your friends- and never being able to experience them again. You thought about the times your friends needed you most, and when you were able to help them through their problems, and when you helped tutor them and teach them everything you knew about Puyo, and when you would all battle together and share laughter together...

What if they never needed you at all? The intrusive thought forced you out of thinking about more jovial times, instead bringing you down into something much worse. Your nightmare replayed in your head as you sobbed louder, being forced to follow along the intrusive thought. They'll be fine without you. They never needed you in the first place. That's why you're here- you're replaceable.

If only, if only. If only you hadn't been so cocky. If only you hadn't looked down upon everyone who tried to stand up to you. If only you weren't such a bully, if only you didn't take the damn battle challenge in the first place. If only you'd been a little nicer... maybe you wouldn't have such bad karma. Maybe you wouldn't be here at all. Maybe... maybe this is your punishment. Something worse than the Puyo underworld.

With your head still buried in your hands, it didn't take Ex long to notice your sobbing from afar. He quickly bounded over to you, sliding on his feet as you heard the scuff from his soles, dropping to his knees as he grabbed you by the shoulder and tried to tilt your soaked chin up. You flinched momentarily, looking up with wide eyes as you blinked. You guessed you hadn't had much of a clue of your volume, only breathing through tiny hiccups of breath as you sniffled through your runny nose, breathing raggedly and sporadically. Ex's expression immediately dropped, a shadow forming over his face as he reached out to you, looking shocked and... guilty, in a way.

"Y/N?" He shook your shoulders to gain your attention, gaining him a glazed, teary look. "Y/N," he whispered, his hands now settled to the sides of your arms. His palms were warm. Compared to you, and compared to his realm, he felt so much warmer. You subconsciously scooted closer just to warm yourself up. "What's wrong? What happened? Are you hurt?" He watched you shift and lightly pull away from his grasp, retracting his hands as you curled up on your side and tucked your arms and feet in, looking away from him. You were ashamed you broke down like this, yet you managed to mutter out an explanation.

"I... I'm sorry." You whispered quietly. "I just- I-I had this nightmare, and..."

"Stop," Ex stated, making you click your mouth shut. He pulled out a handkerchief from his suspenders, dragging the soft part over your cheeks and at the corner of your eyes as his expression softened, now looking full of pity and guilt. His presence felt comforting, almost like a parental figure. Like the father you never had. "It's okay, you're okay..." he continued on, pulling his hand away. You almost wish he didn't. Nobody had ever comforted you like this before. With a calm voice, he finally spoke again. "Tell me what happened, okay? Tell me..."

You sighed shakily, finally being able to regain your breath and relax the slightest bit. "In my... dream," you swallowed, preparing to elaborate for a while. "...I was in this really dark, grey landscape... I walked around for a while, but then I heard something.. popping. It was a Puyo chain." You glanced down as Ex nodded, still kneeled down to your level and observing. You shuddered as you realized how far you had distanced yourself from him, quickly crawling closer for more of his warmth. "And it.. started chasing me."

"Was that it?" Ex mumbled, continuing to watch you as you huddled up against your own skin. You shook your head and continued. "It caught up to me, and it popped. But I didn't wake up.. instead I saw all my friends, and I thought they were waiting for me, but.. they didn't seem to remember me. At all. Whenever I called out to them, they acted like they couldn't hear me.." you sighed and lowered your eyelids, glancing down at the ground once more. "Am I.. am I really that replaceable? Was I sent here for punishment?... Please, tell me, Ex."

He looked more concerned than ever, reaching out and scooping up your hands, eliciting a surprised glance from you. He held them limply, his warm gloved hands heating up yours. "No... no, (Y/N), that's the problem with my realm." His voice gained a bit more audio to it, a soft, gentle calmness still managing to stick onto his words. "You aren't meant to be here. Nobody is. Not even me. The more you stay around here... the more isolated you become. That's why I was so scared when you wound up here in the first place." He sighed heavily and glanced away, letting go of your hands as he placed his down on his knees.

"The truth is, you're not the only one. There's been many like you who have just... wound up here out of sheer unluckiness. They've all managed to get depressed in less than a day of being here." He sighed, adding on. "They never remember me, either. I wasn't made to be remembered. Not even my old crew remembers me.. I'm stuck here on my own, to defend the title of Tetris King and to keep the dimensions from merging."

Your sniffling slowed down as you listened in, suddenly feeling extremely bad for him. He wasn't... here just on his own terms. He had to be here, all alone... to do a job nobody else wanted to do. You can't imagine what that's like. You sit up and listen in, tucking your knees into your chest.

"I have a daughter, too... but I couldn't stay with her because of this job. And now she's never going to know who her real Papa is... all because of me." He looked down, his eyes drooping with sadness. "I'm sorry, (Y/N). I'm sorry you ended up here... with someone like me. I'm sorry I can't help you any further. I'm.. I'm so sorry for being this way. If I could fix it, I would, but I-"

"Ex," you spoke, mirroring his previous actions. "stop. You've done more than enough for me already.. without you, I'd be terrified of this place. I wouldn't have any idea what to do!" You lightly threw your hands in the air to exaggerate your actions. "We might both be stuck here... but at least we're stuck here together."

You flushed a bit at your own cheesy expression, quickly taking it back. "I mean!-" You could hear a hearty chuckle come from Ex as you desperately tried to re-explain. "Y-you know... we're both here together, of course.. and... and while you say I'm not going to remember you anyway.. We're still both here in the long run, right? I'm gonna remember you right now, and that's all that matters.. I don't care if I don't end up remembering you when I get back. As long as you helped me.. you still did something good in my heart. And even if I can't put a name to that deed, without that help, who knows where I'd be?"

You glanced back at Ex's golden eyes which seemed to be laced with tears. He smiled widely before closing his eyes once more and bringing you in for a strong hug. You flinched lightly at the contact before smiling and wrapping your arms in an embrace around him, the two of you resting your eyes as you sighed contentedly. "Thank you, (Y/N). Nobody's ever stayed long enough to say that to me.."

You nodded as you continued smiling, resting your head on his shoulder. He felt warm and comforting.. and no hug between your friends had ever lasted this long before. You felt safe in his arms, like he wouldn't let anything in this world hurt you. You could hear the winds howling around you, yet the only thing you could feel was his warm skin. It felt.. extremely nice, for a lack of better words. You wondered if this was what it was like to have someone truly care about you.

He shifted momentarily, still holding onto you, as if the two of you were both starved to the point where you didn't wanna pull away. You smiled still, shifting with him before accidentally resting your stomach on something.. hard. Something that was poking you. You smile waned as you continued holding him before slowly opening your eyes and glancing down at just exactly was poking you.

Just what did men keep in their pants that was so pointy, anyways? His cellphone? A pair of scissors? A pen... is. Oh. Oh.

You moved away as you looked up at Ex quizzically. "Um, Ex?"

Upon sensing your distress, and feeling the sudden lack of warmth enter his arms, he opened his eyes and tilted his head at you. "What's wrong?" Before he could answer, his little.. problem stirred, answering for him. You watched as his face flushed fifty different shades of red, his hands quickly coming down to cover his crotch as he smirked nervously. "Hahah! Oh, my!- Oh, that.. that is, um.. a problem."

You couldn't tear your eyes away from his... problem. You knew you were staring, you knew it was impolite, and yet this was the first time you had actually seen something like this before. While you weren't the most perverted person in the world, you knew plenty about sex from... sources. Your face was actually starting to heat up quite a bit as well. Nobody had ever been... that attracted to you. Luckily, all your staring gave him plenty of time to apologize.

"I'm... I'm sorry," he uttered out, his voice shaky and quiet. "There.. aren't a lot of people that visit me, hahah.. so.. I guess I get pent up, and, uhm... it happens randomly. I'm-"

"Do you need help?"

Both of you stare and blink at what you just said. Your face heats up twice as much as it was already. Idiot. How did that manage to slip past your lips uncensored?

"Ex.. cuse me?" Ex muttered out, his face flustered and hot as he swallowed and faced you.

"Uhm, I mean," you already started stuttering, regretting every single word that slipped past. "Y-y'know... since not a lot of people come by, I figured-"

"Yes."

"Huh?" You looked up. You figured that since you had your own personal slip-up, it was only fair he had his. "You.. you're sure?"

"Uhm... Yes." He cleared his throat. "I-if you're okay with that, I mean."

You took a deep breath and nodded, reaching your hesitant hands forward before pulling away. He should probably take his suspenders off first, right? You weren't even entirely sure how to do so. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back, exhaling through his nose, before slowly taking the straps of his suspenders off his shoulders. They dropped to his sides, his suspenders becoming loosened before slipping past his legs, gathering at his ankles as he bit his lip- his eyes still closed nervously as his boxers were exposed. You muffled a snort at the dorky heart-shaped ones he adorned. In the center, though, around the crotch region, was a clear extruding bulge. It was rather big, too. Big enough to compare to the ones of the... sources you studied from.

Your hands slowly trembled forward to spread his legs apart, his knees locked from sheer anxiety as you placed your hands on the inner parts of his thigh, leaning closer on your knees. "It's.. alright if I touch here, right?"

He nodded, his hands gripping onto the ground- his knuckles almost white from how hard he was clenching his fists. You carefully ghosted your palms around his pelvis, touching it lightly with a fingertip as if it would shock you. Leaving your fingertip on it, you counted mentally, almost testing to see if it was okay to leave your hand there. One by one, your other fingers joined, one hand resting on his inner thigh and the other on the strap of his boxers. Breathing for a few seconds, you slowly insert your hand into his boxers, surprised at the warmth emitting from it. He flinched lightly from the cool contact of your skin before relaxing, moving up against your touch as he sighed shakily.

"Easy now..." you whispered, finding yourself picking up on some of his verbal quirks. Your heart was racing a million miles an hour, your skin suddenly heating up with sweat. In case it wasn't painfully obvious, you were a virgin, and you had no clue what you were doing in the slightest. Winging it seemed to wield good results, though.

Slipping your hand down into his boxers further, you found your hand being tickled by slight hair that gathered around the base of his thing. Swallowing, you took a deep breath, plunging your hand down to grip onto the smooth skin of his thing.

It was warm, and only semi erect. That was all you could say about it, really. You don't know why you hyped yourself up into thinking it was a big deal... despite it being, well, big.

You carefully pumped the smooth skin, grabbing onto the edge of his boxers with another hand in order to give yourself more room. It laid still on your palm, warmer than anything you had ever grasped before, slowly getting harder and harder as you made your way up to his tip, gently caressing it with your thumb and palm. You dragged your fingertip over the slit, feeling his pulse through it as you felt something wet leak from the tiny slit. Holding it properly, you slowly began to pump it, looking up at him for a reaction.

He looked glorious. His forehead was dripping with sweat, his bangs sticking against his sweat as he muffled whimpers from the attention you were giving him. His eyelashes fluttered as his lips parted, small gasps making his way out of his mouth as he trembled, clenching and unclenching his fists as he flushed heavily. You couldn't help but crack a smile as you felt him getting warmer and harder in your hands, clearly enjoying what he was receiving. You could feel your nether regions get a little hot as well as you shifted positions, now on your stomach as you quickly pulled his boxers down and let his shaft bob in the cool air. A shiver ran down his spine as he opened his eyes, half-lidding them down on you.

You let go to admire the shaft standing in front of you, bobbing in the air still as you swallowed your saliva and blinked, fighting back multiple urges. You wanted so badly to put it in your mouth in some way, but you fought back those urges and placed both of your hands on his cock, one fondling his base and the other working the tip. You glanced up at him, to which he responded by shyly closing his eyes and pretending he wasn't staring at you. It hit you that he was watching you touch him. Why was that so hot?

A small mumble of 'is it good' slipped past your lips as you continued watching him, sitting up a bit to wrap your fingers in a circle around his tip, jerking it up and down as he sent shivers down your spine with a deep groan. Panting softly, you could hear faint sounds of 'uh-huh' slip, your smile widening at just how much he was enjoying himself. You felt him buck up into your hands, a whiny, needy little moan audible as he tossed his head back, his tip drooling with pre-cum as you let him rut up into your fist. He was so cute. A perfect balance of cute and hot and damn if you wouldn't kill to have a recording of this. You're not a pervert, you swear.

You noticed that you had stopped moving your hand, one hand instead locked around his tip as he thrusted into your hand needily, the bare skin of his pelvis audibly smacking against the bottom of your fist. You rest your other hand against his thigh, your thumb rubbing up against the slit teasingly every time he thrusted up into your fist fully. His breathing got heavy and more rapid as you could occasionally see the golden peaks of his eyes peer out, quickly shutting as if he was still too shy to watch you. Adorable. Focusing back down on his cock, you felt your fist get a little slick at just how hard he was going- and just how close he was. His tip was completely coated in pre-cum, your thumb helping to smear around his cock completely.

His pulse quickened as he leaned back and let you finish him off, no longer rutting up into your hand. Deciding you knew the pace he liked now, you quickly began to jerk him off once more, slick sounds emitting from your hand as his deep groan joined in once more. His panting got higher and higher in pitch, until you could hear him utter out an 'I'm gonna'. You knew exactly what he meant.

Moving your fist as fast as you could, you continued moving along his cock, looking back up at his expression. His eyes flickered open for a moment before instantly closing once more, a loud grunt being heard as he arched his hips into your fist once more before staying there. You flinched and closed your eyes, already knowing what to expect- yet you hesitantly opened them as he panted and moaned more, his cock throbbing and twitching in your hand as he kicked his legs a bit and curled his feet, sweat drenching his forehead as he stopped and looked down at you, his head lazily laid back as he propped himself up with shaky arms, grabbing onto your hands and intertwining his fingers with yours.

You tilted your head before holding onto his hand more, smiling for comfort. Did you... possibly do something wrong? Is that why he didn't ejaculate? You glanced down at his cock which still looked painfully hard. Looking back up at him, he seemed to know that you put two and two together.

"Ah... Thank you. Sorry I didn't, um... you know. I kinda wanted to hold myself back, you know?..." He laughed sheepishly as he smiled back at you, his face still red and flustered. You smiled back and sat up, seemingly understanding.

"It's alright, I understand. Is it possible you want to?.." Your mouth shut as you swallowed a bit, forbidding yourself from embarrassing yourself like last time.

"To? Come on, spit it out!" He playfully encouraged you as he gave you a gentle smile. You flushed and looked away.

"To, um... go all the way with me."

"..Oh?"

You shudder a bit and look away, flustered already. Great. You did it again!

His grip on your hands tightened as he gave you a re-affirming smile, grabbing your attention. "I'd love to, as long as you're sure of it."

"O-of course," you stammered out. "But, uhm, you see.. I've never done this before, so.."

He pinned you gently, crawling over your body, suddenly showing off his dominant side. You couldn't help but squeak in surprise, easily overpowered by the older man. Shuddering already, you leaned back to help him lie you back, momentarily forgetting about the uncomfortable ground beneath you. "It's alright. I'll help you. And if at any time you feel like you wanna stop, just tell me, okay?" You meekly nodded as he smiled, sliding his hands up his shirt. "Let's get you undressed..."

You gasped as he slid his hands up over your chest, rubbing around a pert nipple that was already erect from the cold. You swallowed and felt a sudden shock light up your body as he touched you, your hands weakly grasping at his risk to encourage him. He rubbed his thumbs over them in circular motion, chuckling darkly at your writhing as you huffed and kicked in pleasure, his hands grasping at your shirt as he slowly pulled it up, letting your chest remain exposed to the cool air, only stimulating your buds more as you whined and bit your lip at how cold it was. He leaned down, pressing his body up against yours to keep you warm, feeling his erection rest on your thigh as you trembled and shuddered from the contact. You put your hands above your head, watching his fingertips travel down your body closely, submitting to his actions as you lightly squirmed, kicking your lower half in a desperate attempt to bring more attention to it.

He hushed you, soothing yet dominant, as he slowly dragged his fingers down to your pelvis, lightly tracing along your skin before looking up, almost as if he was asking permission. You nodded to him before spreading your legs wider, allowing him better access. Your cock already strained against your boxers, providing a tent in them. His hand slid past your pants, into your underwear, as he fondled the soft skin that resided underneath the base of your cock, feeling you up heavily in his palm. Your hips spontaneously arched against his fingers as you audibly gasped, quickly silencing yourself before watching with a dazed look as you slickened his fingers with your fluids. He focused intently, just feeling past your balls before finally reaching down to your hole, tracing his fingertips across it lightly and never quite having the courage to push them in, fondling and treating you like you were something delicate. As if you were a glass vase that could break under his fingers if he pushed too hard. 

He quickly slid his hand out, noticing his glove that was now soaked in your fluid, before tugging your pants down and exposing your shaft in it's full glory. You groaned at the sensation and looked away in embarrassment, crumpling up your now discarded shirt and using it to cover your face. He chuckled at your antics before focusing back down to your slit, rubbing his fingers over the tip gently. Your legs twitched impatiently as he examined you, rubbing up your tip, looping his fingers around it and lightly jerking it as your slit dribbled out pre-cum- his fingers soaked, the cotton of his gloves firmly stick to his fingertips now. He gently pried the shirt away from your face and made you look at him to ask a question. "Should I.. do you want me to put it in now? Are you ready?"

You nodded, turning back to him and clutching onto the shirt as you shuddered and spread your legs wider. He kissed your inner thighs soothingly, dragging his lips across them as he neared your slit, smirking up at you before pressing a daring kiss directly at your entrance. You gasped and shuddered, making a noise at the back of your throat before turning your attention down to his sore cock, bringing a hand down to pump your cock at the sight. He seemed to fumble with his suspenders, pulling something out of his pocket- a tiny plastic square that held... even more plastic inside of it?

Oh right, your brain chimed in, a condom. In all your sexy glory, you had completely forgotten about one. Thank the Puyo Gods Ex had you covered.

He slid the thin piece of plastic over his shaft, and you gulped, panting and shuddering as you squirmed in anticipation. Your heart rate sped up as you suddenly became nervous and jittery again, blinking and biting on your lip nervously as you watched him line up. You nodded at him, muttering 'please, just do it' before watching his plastic-covered tip slowly make its way into you.

The first push was... strange. Not painful, but a new feeling altogether. You had never actually had something inside you before, but you could feel the warmth and the length protrude into you, and it was something that just felt odd. It stung a little bit, mostly due to the lack of slickness- his cock slowly pushing further and further into you. 

You felt yourself involuntarily clench up around him, watching him toss his head back and groan as he sunk himself further into your tight, hot entrance. You desperately scratched at the ground in an attempt to steady yourself before switching your hands back up to his shoulders, gripping onto them tightly as you kicked your thighs up and lightly wrapped your ankles around his waist, feeling him sink in inch by inch. You panted and groaned as you slowly became accustomed to the strange new feeling, watching his hands push himself up over you at your sides.

For the duration of the first push, you closed your eyes and held onto him tightly, nails digging into his shoulders as you whimpered and tossed your head back. A slight groan slipped out of your mouth, the both of you panting in sync as you kept scrambling to hold onto him. Once you felt him press in fully, you relaxed your body a bit at his command. He leaned forward and panted against your neck, mumbling 'relax' into your skin as he held you by your sides, soothingly rubbing them as you breathed in through your mouth and exhaled through your nose, letting him stop.

Slowly but surely, you felt your body relax and unclench around him, the thought that he was inside you suddenly hitting you. The thought that- there was an actual person inside you. You panted and swallowed, breathing normally as you could feel yourself get more and more aroused by the minute, the sudden burning, aching feeling of emptiness you used to have when you were horny finally being satisfied. With something quite large, too.

You suddenly moaned loudly in his ear as he flinched from your volume before looking up, his skin still sticky from sweat. You bit your lip in apology before half-lidding your eyes more, shuddering. "You want me to move?" He sat up between your legs as you lied back fully, his hands on your knees, keeping you spread as you nodded once more.

With a slow start, he slowly plunged his hips against yours, eliciting a groan from your mouth as you rested your hands on top of your chest, your head rolled back in pleasure as your eyes squeezed themselves shut, tears forming at the brim. You could hear him moan, could feel the warmth rock in and out of you, could feel the soft texture of the plastic rub against your inner walls. You slowly drifted your hand down to your throbbing cock, tightening your hand in a fist around it as you slowly began to pump- continuing to lean back, listening to the soft smacking of skin against skin echoing through the empty realm. Your eyes flickered open as they drooped, staring out into nothing as you felt him thrust against you at a moderate pace, his hands forcing your legs apart more as you quickly clung onto his waist.

You could feel your normal headspace slowly deteriorate away as the feeling hit you. The feeling of actually being... mated. No, ditch the formal word. Of being fucked. It was better than you could possibly imagine- his hard cock ramming into your core and filling you, filling that aching spot inside of you that longed for another person. You couldn't help yourself at this point, moans kept spilling from your lips as you spread your legs once more, admiring the sound of skin on skin as you panted and decided to open your eyes, looking down as you watched him thrust in and out of you. You could still see the reflection of the plastic, his hips drawing back to expose his sore cock ramming into you. He pulled out halfway to the base before thrusting back in, his hands placed on his hips as if he didn't know where else to place them. You let out a pleasured, drowsy giggle as your eyes rolled back, forcing you to close them once more as you felt him pick up speed.

The sound of him smacking against you suddenly got louder and more frequent, a deep, throaty groan emitting from him in a completely different pitch than he had used earlier. It made you gasp and struck a certain note within you, something that sent a hot flush down your spine as you tingled all over. He leaned down and pressed his hand up against your chest, holding you down as he left his other hand drift onto his hip. He opened his eyes at the same time as you opened yours, glaring down at you with his golden gaze. You stared back at him, albeit submissively, and just whimpered, spreading your legs desperately for him to keep using you. He grunted and suddenly picked up his pace again, leaning down to your ear as he suddenly became aggressive, using you harder and harder- until you could no longer beg for more speed, until you were sputtering over your moans, tearing up and looking up at him because you wanted more, you needed more, you needed him.

He crooned at you as he whispered in your ear in his new deepened husky voice, his speed never once breaking. "You're so tight," he muttered, a shadow obscuring his face. "So tight and hot for me. I-" He groaned as he suddenly sat back up, confusing you for a moment before suddenly plunging his fist out, tightening it around your neck. You gasped and widened your eyes, almost about to kick him off before realizing it wasn't choking you. He held your neck down against the ground as you both simultaneously tossed your head back and groaned, your hormones now taking over, the two of you being reduced to nothing but a moaning mess. "I need this. Please," he gasped out, his hips still hammering into yours at an incredible pace. You teared up and panted, mouthing his name over and over as you felt something inside you swell up, something tighten up so fast that you didn't know what it would take to be unwound again. Something was.. building up, something good. Your eyes rolled up in pleasure as you whimpered, getting closer and closer until the only thing you could say was 'please'.

You watched him lean in closer, still pinning you down by the throat as he grunted, panting in your ear directly. "Cum for me," he growled, before sitting back up and thrusting against you in an aggressive force, the bottom of your thighs and your bottom surely bruised just by how rough he was being. He gripped onto your cock and pumped it for you, his gloved hand rubbing past your sensitive tip. With a loud yelp, you did as you were told, arching your back up to shove yourself down onto his cock fully before suddenly becoming unhinged, spasming all over him as you unclenched and clenched back around him, your cock throbbing in his hand as it released hot fluids all over his clenched fist- slowly laying back down against the cold ground as you felt him moan and tower over you, thrusting into you as hard and as fast as he could, nearing his own orgasm as he helped you work through your own.

You were so dazed at your own harsh release that you hardly noticed him reaching his own, you just noticed that it became hard to breathe as his hand suddenly clenched up around your throat before retracting, his palms facing the ground as he shoved himself inside of you fully, one final harsh smack audible as he snarled in pleasure, filling up the condom wrapped around his shaft, warming up your insides from the thick fluids as you gasped and let out another weak moan. With how doped up your brain was with hormones, you almost wished he wasn't wearing the condom so you could feel exactly how warm and hot he felt, you wished you could feel it gushing out inside of you and hitting against that one particular spot that he had just managed to tap on a few times.

He collapsed on top of you, barely able to keep himself up as you rested your foreheads together, your legs still kicked up and accepting as his cock slowly became flaccid inside of you. You panted and sighed in relief as you attempted to recover, the sweat on your bodies slowly cooling you down as you swallowed, letting him slowly pull away from. You sat up, watching him remove the now used condom and toss it aside as you nodded a thank you and pulled up your pants, slowly getting dressed again as you uttered out a more formal thank-you.

"Hey... Ex? Um, thank you for... that. I know that's probably uncommon around here, hehe.." You sheepishly rubbed the back of your head as you glanced away, a small teasing smile on your lips. He smiled back at you and helped you up, your legs still shaky from the orgasm you had a few moments ago. "It was pretty uncommon... but not at all unwelcome. You're quite welcome! And, ah... thank you as well. Not only for that but... for being so kind." You nodded and looked up, giving an affirming gesture. "No problem at all..."

You let out a loud yawn as your eyes drooped once more. Ex noticed your exhaustion as he chuckled, wrapping you up with your own jacket to protect you as you snuggled into it, resting back on the ground as you closed your eyes, listening in on the older man's words.

"Get some rest, okay? I'll wake you up when it's time to go. I think I know how to get you back home now..."

You nodded and let yourself drift into unconsciousness, sighing contentedly as you felt warm and happy for once. You knew Ex was going to protect you.. and you knew he was going to be there for you.

This time, you didn't have any nightmares.

\--

"Hey," a familiar voice gently roused you out of your sleep, repeating your name. "Hey! (Y/N)! Wake up.. I have good news!"

Your eyelids slowly fluttered open as you mumbled sleepily, Ex's face slowly blurring into view as you lifted up a paw in salute, waving lazily. He grabbed your hand and attempted to slowly pull you up, gaining a tired whimper from you as your previously warm skin was exposed to the cold once again.

"What is it?..." You mumbled out, looking up at him for a reaction. He pulled you with him as he walked backwards, grabbing both of your arms to lead you to your destination as you yelped and slowly stumbled forward, following his eagerness. "Woah!"

"I can't believe it didn't occur to me before. It was so simple!" He let go of your arms and turned away from you, his hands behind his back as he trodded across the rocky platform the two of you seemed to have landed on. He paced back and forth as he explained his thoughts to you. You merely snuffled and wrapped your jacket further around you, blinking up at him. "If I can battle you in both Tetris and Puyo.. and managed to beat you while we're both battling at full strength... then sending you back should be a piece of cake." He tapped his chin through his musings before turning back to you, suddenly looking forlorn. "Although... there is a problem." You tilted your head as you blinked up at him, your arms still crossed. "And what would that be?"

"If I send you back, you won't remember me... This'll all be for nothing. I... I know I should be used to it by now, but I'm disappointed, almost. You seemed like a good person to have around... I don't wanna say goodbye just yet." He looked up, and you could almost see the hurt in his eyes. It bore into your soul and made your heart throb- you really didn't want to have to leave him all alone, but... there was no choice. All you could do is hope that you remembered him... there had to be a better way. You'd simply convince yourself that you really would remember him in the long run. You stepped forward and placed your hand on his shoulder, making him look up- still looking sad and disappointed from your departure. You gave him a bleak smile as you began to comfort him, moving a hand up to his cheek.

"Hey, hey... You remember that promise I made you? That... that as long as we're together, I'd remember you... You'll always be with me, Ex. Nothing could ever make me get rid of the times we spent together... There's no way I'd forget a guy like you. Ever." He leaned into your palm and smiled, his expression soft with understanding. He slowly pulled away as he nodded, standing confidently once more. "Alright, then."

He took a deep breath and exhaled, facing you as he spread both of his hands out. "Are you ready?..."

"Yup!"

"Fusion time!"

As Ex announced the new mode, you perked up at the two boards appearing on both your sides. You peeked up at your lineup, smiling at the familiar bouncy Puyo that fell from your board. At least you would be starting with something familiar.

As you stacked and twisted your chains, you couldn't help but reflect on just how wonderful Ex was and how kind he had been with you the entire time. Even when you broke down and sobbed your eyes out to a completely unexpecting stranger who you'd exchanged few words with, he still held you and comforted you as if you were a friend he'd known for years. He somehow knew almost exactly what to say, and it was incredible. Never in your life had you seen someone who'd-

Oop!- Tetriminos were now falling down with the Puyo. Just what kind of mode was this, anyway? Taking a deep breath, you quickly reorganized your chain and moved it out of the way as much as possible before sending your Tetrimino down. You tried to remember what Ex had done before and watched your next Tetrimino closely as it stuck to the one you had previously dropped, producing a nice click! noise as Puyos began to rain down again. You looked over at Ex, who seemed extremely focused on his own board, his eyebrows furrowed as he focused on getting his first chain set up. You grunted in determination before glaring back at your board, setting a messy chain of Puyos off as you called out your spell names.

He was quite the intense battler. Never in all your years of Puyo battling had you met someone so strong- not even your professors had them matched. It was incredible how fast he moved, it was almost as if he wasn't thinking at all, yet still made incredibly strategic moves. You can't believe that you're praising someone you met less than two days ago, but you were glad you ended up in Ex's realm alongside him instead of.. well, anywhere else. He was someone who you'd love to learn more from if you had more time... If you ever saw him again. Those types of thoughts made you feel a bit melancholy, but you hoped dearly to see him again. You knew in your heart that you were going to see him again.

You heard him set off a set of Tetrimino as you flinched and looked over at his board, garbage now forming at the top of your previously detonated chain as you growled, watching him closely. His Tetriminos seemed to fall right through the garbage, and you quickly mimicked him, setting off another chain of Tetrimino, countering some of the garbage he was sending your way. He had you struggling, that's for sure! But deep inside, you were proud of yourself for picking up on a brand new mode so quickly. Especially against someone as powerful as him.

You watched the both of your boards go back and forth, garbage dropping and being popped away, Tetriminos being set off left and right, Puyo chains ringing through your eardrums as you could feel your pulse through your entire body. Every time you had him, he'd quickly wriggle his way out of the tight spot and turn it right back on you, making you struggle to keep up. You weren't angry at all, however. You were filled with more admiration than you were when you watched your first Puyo battle as a young toddler.

"Speed up!" He yelped at you, sending another surge of garbage your way. You grinned and dropped the Tetrimino you were holding, watching the lines disappear out from a chain of Puyo you had stacked right on top- setting off the chain that was above, quickly countering the garbage and turning it back on him. You were sharp enough after all! You watched his reaction as he widened his eyes before just smiling and saying, "Good move!". You rolled your eyes playfully and looked back at your board, attempting to set back up what you had previously had.

Fearing that it was a fluke, you struggled setting the chain back up, before quickly tossing a small two-chain his way. "Almost done!" You snapped over at him, watching him quickly counter again as you yipped at all the garbage that came crashing down. You smiled before just letting yourself receive the garbage, watching him quickly perform another nearly-impossible chain. You closed your eyes as you heard your board crashed, yet you weren't disappointed. You didn't drop to your knees or anything, you were truly happy that you got to experience something so amazing. You felt the light from the spells envelop you as you opened your eyes once more to face Ex. He swung his arms your way and winked at you, giving you finger guns as he cried out one last time. "Thank you, that was fun!"

With one final wave, you disappeared, to be remembered once more.

\--

...You were laying somewhere where the ground was much, much softer compared to the place you had previously been. Light dew-drops soaked into your clothes and into your skin, the baby blue sky filled with white, puffy clouds blocking the harsh sun from frying you. Around you, despite the tall shadows of trees shielding you, you could see darkened figures surrounding you, slowly becoming less and less dark as you regained consciousness- your ears no longer ringing as you sat up, your energy having been restored finally.

"(Y/N)? Oh... oh, you're awake! Oh, thank goodness you're safe!"

You looked up at the figures and instantly smiled at their familiar faces, your heart leaping as you instantly jolted up, standing up fully. "G-guys! You... you waited for me!"

"Of course we did! We were scared you'd gotten transported off to a different dimension and wouldn't come back! What even happened, anyways?... You've been gone for two days! We were so terrified..."

You sheepishly rubbed the back of your head, smiling up at them as you closed your eyes, attempting to recount exactly what happened. "Oh?... Was I? I'm sorry about that! The truth is, um..."

Your eyes widened and opened as you perked up, vividly remembering everything about where you were. You remembered how cold it was, you remembered the lower sense of gravity, you remembered how dark it was, you remembered the lack of light, but.. on top of it all, you remembered him.

"...I don't remember! Yup. I don't remember a single thing." You smiled up at your friends, your hands behind your back.

"Whaaaat? Surely you remember something!" They looked at you with a puzzled look as you giggled, tilting your head to the side.

"Nope! Not a thing. Sorry, guys!" You smiled as you swayed lightly, standing up on your tippy-toes. "But... hey, at least I'm back here, hmm?"

"Yeah, that's what we're most thankful for! Sucks you didn't bring any souvenirs, though." You felt your friend lightly jostle you playfully as you grinned up at them. Oh, if only they knew.

"Oh, I didn't, did I? Now, let me tell you all about a little thing called Tetriminos..."

If only he knew.


End file.
